Venkatapathy Raju

Guwahati, Nov. 21: Prodded by the BCCI and the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), the reluctant Hyderabad Ranji Trophy team today checked into the city for their match against the hosts from Sunday at the NF Railway Stadium in Maligaon.

The 19-member team, led by former international Venkatapathy Raju, arrived this afternoon from Hyderabad. However, the players preferred to stay put in their hotel rooms, rather than go for the nets.

Coach Rajesh Yadav, brother of former international Shivlal Yadav, admitted there were apprehensions in the Hyderabad camp following reports of arson and killings in the state.

“We were assured by the ACA and the BCCI that situation has returned to normal. We arrived safely and are happy with the arrangements. We skipped the nets because we had taken the 4.30 am flight. We will hit the nets tomorrow morning,” Yadav told The Telegraph from his hotel room.

Having won their first match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad by 150 runs, Hyderabad’s sole concern, according to Yadav, is to maintain the winning streak. “I told my boys to be positive and go for an outright win. We have to make the most out of the winning start,” he said.

Hyderabad have made one change from the side that won against Gujarat. Vice-captain and off-spinner Shivaji Yadav, who missed the first tie due to jaundice, has come in for Anup Pai.

The team also figures talented middle-order batsman Arjun Yadav, Shivlal Yadav’s son.

This is the second Ranji match between the two sides, but the visitors will not be short on “expert advice” because coach Yadav and Raju have played here before. “We are aware of what to expect and we have a young and talented side. I have played here in 1985,” Yadav said.

Assam had lost their first Ranji match against Hyderabad in Hyderabad in the Nineties.

Besides coach Yadav, the four-man support includes manager Narendra Goud, assistant coach Vivek Jaisimha and physio Gagendra Reddy.

Gujarat have walloped hosts Assam by seven wickets at the Nehru Stadium early this week.

Team: V. Raju (captain) Daniel Manohar, Nanda Kishore, Anirudha Singh, Vinay Kumar, Arjun Yadav, Ibrahim Khalil (wicketkeeper), Shivaji Yadav, N.P. Singh, Vishnuvardhan, Indrasekhar Reddy, G. Baba, Faiz Ahmed, Abhinav Kumar (wicketkeeper) and T. Sumant