J&K aims to iron out glitches for Ranji defence

Jammu & Kashmir appeared to run out of steam against Rest of India Towards the closing stages of the Irani Cup. It reflected in the 167-run margin of defeat.

It should not overly perturb the reigning Ranji Trophy champion going into its title defence on October 11, given that the opposition had as many as six players who have represented India in its ranks. On the contrary, the host did not have the services of star pacer Auqib Nabi who was part of India’s squad for the ODI series against the West Indies.

With Paras Dogra & Co. facing Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji opener at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, the 41-year-old stressed that there is only a need to fine-tune.

“We fought really well against a Rest of India team where there were six-seven India players,” Dogra said after the loss. “It’s a very good sign that we are there.”

Dogra highlighted Umar Nazir’s 22 no-balls across the two innings as one area requiring work.

“There were a few too many no-balls. Against such a big team, minor errors can lead to a loss. We will try to minimise those small mistakes,” the middle-order batter said.

J&K didn’t have the pair of Nabi and Yudhvir Singh available, but the other fast bowlers showed they could deliver.

“We learnt a lot of things from this game. A little about the batting and a little about the bowling. We have the strength, so we can also change a few bowlers if needed,” Dogra added.

I