Ashok Dinda

Calcutta: Ashok Dinda feels that he has improved a lot as a bowler in the last six months which will help him during the upcoming tri-series in Zimbabwe from May 28 to June 9. The Bengal speedster is indebted to Sourav Ganguly and Wasim Akram for their invaluable suggestions during the phase.

“I have now gained control over the various variation of slower deliveries. This happened primarily due to Sourav’s constant coaxing,” stated a smiling Dinda.

“In fact, for the past one year, Dadi (that’s how Sourav Ganguly’s teammates call him) was advising me to learn how to use slower deliveries, which is a must in the shorter formats. He taught me the basics of slower balls. When Wasimbhai joined as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling consultant, he fine tuned it even further. That’s why, my bowling had that variety during this year’s IPL,” said the 26-year-old.

Will it be an advantage that senior pacers like Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar will not be there?

“I won’t look at it that way. Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Pankaj Singh are proven performers and I will have to give my hundred per cent to get a look in. Obviously, having been in that dressing room earlier will help. The first time you enter the Indian dressing room, there is a sense of awe. As you travel with the team, you tend to settle down,” he said.

It was good day for Bengal cricket as Wriddhiman Saha and Manoj Tiwary were named in the India A team that will tour England in June-July for an A team tri-series. Wriddhiman, incidentally, was named vice-captain.

“Obviously, it’s a great honour that I will now be a part of the team management,” said Wriddhiman.

Manoj said: “If your basics are strong, nothing can deter you from performing well. It’s a new challenge. It will test me as batsman as we will face quality swing bowling,” said the Bengal vice-captain.

THE SQUADS

INDIA: Batsmen: Suresh Raina (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (vice-captain) Murali Vijay; Wicket-keeepers: Dinesh Karthik, Naman Ojha; All-rounders: Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja; Spinners: Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, R. Ashwin; Pacers: Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, R. Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

Note: Piyush Chawla will join the side only for the two T20s.

INDIA A: Batsmen: Cheteshwar Pujara (captain), Manoj Tiwary, Abhinav Mukund, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav; Wicket-keeper: Wriddhiman Saha (vice-captain); Spinners: Bipul Sharma, Iqbal Abdullah; Pacers: Sudeep Tyagi, Abhimanyu Mithun, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaskaran Singh, Jaydev Unadkat.