As the premier one-day domestic cricket tournament, the Challenger Series for the NKP Salve Trophy gets under way at Motera stadium on Thursday, the spotlight will be on performances of some fringe players who will get one more chance to impress the selectors before the Indian squad for the home-series against Pakistan is announced.

The captain of the India Blue team Virender Sehwag, who has found it difficult to regain his form with the willow,  will be among those who will be keenly watched by the national panel of selectors during this day-and-night event.

Selectors expected
The selectors are expected to be present at the Sardar Patel Gujarat stadium at Motera during the tournament which begins with the clash between India Red and India Blue teams, the Gujarat Cricket Association officials said.
They will be announcing the squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan on the sidelines of the Challenger Trophy tournament, they added.

Sehwag was last seen in action on the one-day international arena when he opened for Asia XI in a game against Africa XI at Chennai in January 2007. Sehwag had scored just 8 runs in the match. Even in the recent Twenty20 match against Australia played in Mumbai, Sehwag just made five runs.

Kaif under scanner
Sehwag’s counterpart in morrow’s match and the captain of India Red, Mohammed Kaif will also be looking to flourish with the bat during the series.

Kaif has been out of the Indian one-day squad since November 29, 2006, when he made just 10 runs in a ODI match against South Africa at Port Elizabeth.

Other India Red players including left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir, S Badrinath and pacer Ishant Sharma, who recently represented India, will try to cement their places in the national side.

Looking to impress the selectors, will be young Suresh Raina (India Blue) who last played an ODI in a home-series against the West Indies in January 27, 2007.

Other players from the India Blue team including wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Kaarthick, all-rounder Joginder  Sharma, off spinner Romesh Pawar and Bengal paceman Ranadeb Bose will also be trying to put up impressive performances.

The third team in the tournament — India Green—- led by wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel will play their first match on October 26. The performances of promising youngsters in this squad like opener Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Abhishek Nayar, Iqbal Abdullah will be also be watched keenly.

Munaf chomping
India Green pacer Munaf Patel who was overlooked for the recent series against Australia at home will also try and prove his worth with the leather.

Munaf who last played an ODI against England in August, will also be looking to silence his critics who recently questioned his fitness and attitude towards the game.

India Red: Mohammed Kaif (capt), Gautam Gambhir, S Badrinath, Karan Goel, Virat Kohli, Ravnit Riki, Praveen Kumar, Mahesh Rawat (wkt), Pragyhan Ojha, Siddarth Trivedi, Ishant Sharma, Pinal Shah, Srikant Munde, Paresh Patel.

India Blue: Virender Sehwag (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Kaarthick, Swapnil Asanodkar, Niraj Patel, Arjun Yadav, Joginder Sharma, Ramesh Powar, Amit Mishra, Yo Mahesh, Ranadeb Bose, Suresh Raina, Rakesh Dhruv, Sourav Bandekar.