State U-16 boys to begin campaign today

Tripura is set to begin their campaign on Monday, with Uttar Pradesh as their first opponent. The Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy match will be held in Shimoga. This will be the opening match of the season for both teams, and both sides completed their final practice session on Sunday.

The pitch in Shimoga is expected to be a sporting wicket and likely to assist batters, according to the Tripura team management. With this in mind, the initial plan is to opt for batting first if they win the toss. The squad that played the practice match in Chandigarh is likely to remain unchanged for this fixture.

For Tripura, Yash Debbarma and Rajdeep Debnath will open the innings, followed by Bishal Sarkar, Erys Debnath, captain Sandipan Das, Somdeb Shil, and Mayukh Chowdhury. Tripura is planning to field three pacers — Prithviraj Ghosh, Tuhin Debnath, and Somdeb Shil. The spin department will feature Chandra Snat Goswami, Mayukh Chowdhury, and Erys.

The Tripura players trained for about two and a half hours, beginning with conditioning exercises, followed by fielding drills, and concluding with net practice. The team management hopes the young cricketers will give their best against a strong Uttar Pradesh side.