BHUBANESWAR 24-Nov-2011 143
A lenient Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) today withdrew the suspension imposed on state wicket-keeper Haladhar Das for violation of code of conduct on the eve of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Punjab at Mohali earlier this month.
``The Tournament and Disciplinary Committee in its meeting at the OCA office today decided to withdraw the penalty with immediate effect on consideration of his response to the show-cause notice, wherein Das begged apology for his mistake and assured not to repeat the same in the future,`` OCA secretary Asirbad Behera said in a statement.
The 25-year-old stumper was on November 13 suspended for the rest of the season (2011-12) for allegedly skipping the team dinner and returning to the hotel in an inebriated condition the night before Odisha`s match at Mohali on November 10. Das dropped from the team and was sent home next morning notwithstanding the fact that he was the captain.
However, after the withdrawal of the suspension order, Das has been reinstated in the 17-member team, which was also announced today for their next Ranji match against Mumbai to be played at DRIEMS ground, Tangi, Cuttack from November 29 to December 2.
OCA also effected another change in the team that drew their last Ranji match against Uttar Pradesh at Sambalpur earlier this week by including pace bowler Santosh Jena in place of top-order batsman Sumitosh Praharaj.
According to the OCA secretary, Praharaj was released from the Ranji team in order to strengthen the State under-19 side. ``The U-19 team is in Plate Group and needs some experienced players to help it reach the Elite Group. The Junior Selection Committee and U-19 team coach R Srikanth also requested the services of Praharaj,`` explained Behera.
Odisha team: Natraj Behera (captain), Bikash Swarup Pati, Paresh Patel, Niranjan Behera, Abhilash Mallick, Biplab Samantaray (vice-captain), Deepak Behera, Haladhar Das (wk), Subit Biswal, Basanta Mohanty, Alok Mangraj, Dhiraj Singh, Jayanta Behera, Preetamjeet Das, Subhrajit Sahoo (wk), Lagnajit Samal, Santosh Jena.
Support staff: Chinmayananda Jena (Manager), Subhasis Bhuyan (Technical manager), Debasis Mohanty (Coach), Saumya Rout (Physio), AT Rajamani Prabhu (Trainer), Susanta Sethi (Masseur), Susanta Ghose (Observer).
