Laxman, Kaif to play in city T20 carnival

Kolkata, February 5 He may have been eased out of the Indian one-day team, but VVS Laxman isn’t shutting the door on the shorter version of the game. As the much-awaited CCFC Twenty20 Office Tournament gets underway in the city this Thursday, the stylish Hyderabadi batsman is the key attraction, alongside another stalwart Mohammed Kaif.

The two Team India big names apart, a clutch of other reputed players will take part in the six-team office tournament that will be played at the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CCFC) ground from February 7 to 10.

A big surprise will be the appearance of former Sri Lankan middle-order cornerstone Hashan Tillekaratne, who will don the the shirt of a Lankan club side that has been invited to take on teams from ONGC, Indian Airlines, Indian Oil and an office team from Nepal.

Laxman, Kaif, Tillekaratne apart, prominent names from the domestic circuit taking part in this Twenty20 tournament are speedsters Gagandeep Singh and Amit Bhandari, off-spinner Rahul Sanghvi, and former India stumpers Ajay Ratra and Vijay Dahiya.

For Laxman, the appearance in the Twenty20 office carnival is significant, considering that after getting ignored for the tri-nation one-day tournament in Australia despite a laudable showing in the Tests, the elegant batsman opted out of the crucial Duleep Trophy fixture.

Kaif, meanwhile, was in the city only recently, as skipper of the Uttar Pradesh team that got the better of hosts Bengal in the Ranji Trophy here earlier this winter. Kaif will be in the city tomorrow evening, Laxman will arrive the following evening.