Jamshedpur, Nov. 10: In what may be seen as a significant move the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) has roped in two outstation players to give a boost to the sagging morale of the Jharkhand Ranji team.

Both the recruited players, Vijay Raghvendrarao Bhardwaj and Manoj Joglekar, bring with them the experience of playing big league matches.

Bhardwaj is from Bangalore and has played in three test matches and 10 one dayers for the country, while Joglekar, the deft left handed opening batsman from Mumbai, played Ranji for Mumbai last season. He switched overto Assam three years ago.

The inclusion of these two outstation players will be a new experience for the team as it?s a move that?s been initiated again after a gap of many years.

For the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), the recruitment of outstation players was a common practice way back in the 70s and 80s, when the fortunes of BCA in Ranji revolved around the likes of Ramesh Saxena, Tilak Raj, Anand Shukla, who eventually even went on to make the steel city their homes.

The practice, however, fizzled out over the years and for the newly formed JSCA it?s a new experiment.

?It helps having at least two seasoned players in the senior squad,? said B.N. Singh, secretary of JSCA. Both the players are here thanks to Kinjan Suratwala, the National Cricket Academy physiotherapist, who played a link between the cricketers and JSCA.

?I am basically here to help Jharkhand improve its performance in the coming season. One should not read more into it,? said Joglekar. Echoing him, Bhardwaj, said he would try to add solidity to the Jharkhand middle order. ?I would be glad if I can add more value to the Jharkhand Ranji team,? 30-year-old Bhardwaj said.

Asked whether they have observed any resentment from the home Ranji team probables, both replied in the negative.

?No, there?s nothing as such. The boys are good and hardworking,? they said.