BHUBANESWAR 07-Aug-2013 181
The All-India Senior Selection Committee of the BCCI today picked Odisha medium-pacer Basant Mohanty for the India A team for a three-match unofficial ODI series against New Zealand A. Led by Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand, India A will play the three ODIs at Vishakhapatnam on September 11 (Port Trust Jubilee Stadium), 13 and 15 (both ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium).
This is the second time that Basant has made it to the National team. In 2007, he toured Israel and played one T20 match for the Emerging Indian team. This is much awaited reward for Basant, who has been putting up impressive performance in the BCCI domestic tournament for the past five seasons.
Three seasons ago, he finished among the top 10 bowlers in Ranji Trophy Championship. Last season, he collected 33 wickets from eight matches. The spearhead of Odisha pace attack, Basant also made notable contribution in East Zone retaining the Duleep Trophy.
A late starter _ he took to cricket as a Plus Two student _ Basant made a memorable first-class debut, taking eight wickets for 57 runs against Bengal in a Ranji match, which Odisha won by six wickets at Siliguri in December, 2007.
Next year, he bagged a career best haul of seven for 27 in the first innings against Punjab in a Ranji match, which Odisha won by nine wickets here at the Railway Stadium. A haul of nine wickets for 81 runs against Haryana in November, 2012 at Rohtak remains his best bowling success in a first-class match. Odisha beat Haryana by four wickets to post their first outright win in four years.
Basant is no novice with the bat. He performed his best with an unbeaten 60 against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal, which East Zone won at Vishakhapatnam last year. He compiled 190 run for the seventh wicket partnership with Saurabh Tiwary to help East Zone fight back from six down for 60.
A product of Pragati Sporting Club, which is well-known for grooming internationals Shiv Sundar Das, Sritam Das, Satya Ranjan Satpathy and Sanjay Satpathy, Basant started his career as a leg-spinner.
INDIAN TEAM FOR THE ONE-DAYERS: Unmukt Chand (DDCA, Captain), Robin Uthappa (KSCA), Aditya Tare (Mumbai CA), Kedar Jadhav (Maharashtra CA), Mandeep Singh (Punjab CA), Ashok Meenaria (RCA), Sanju Vishwanadh (Kerala CA), Sachin Baby (Kerala CA), Dhawal Kulkarni (Mumbai CA), Basant Mohanty (OCA), Sandeep Sharma (PCA), Shrikant Wagh (VCA), Rahul Sharma (PCA), Jalaj Saxena (MPCA).
FACT FILE
Name: Basant Mohanty
Born: November 24, 1986, Cuttack
First-class performance: 44 matches, 3575 runs, 160 wickets, average 22.34, economy 2.33
List A: 9 matches, 276 runs, 12 wickets, average 23.00, economy 3.48
Twenty20: 8 matches, 176 runs, 9 wickets, average 19.55, economy 5.64
