Over 4500 hopefuls turned up for the BCCI's open trials for bowlers, at four centres, in February. The trials — only eligible for those who had not played in BCCI tournaments — was held at Dharamsala, Jammu, Raipur and Ranchi.
The BCCI's three-member committee in Sandeep Patil, Director, Cricket Operations, National Cricket Academy, Karsan Ghavri, Head Coach, BCCI Academy, Mohali, and Yoginder Puri, Coach, BCCI Academy, Mohali selected 63 bowlers for further training. The next open trials will be held after May.
The breakdown : Dharamsala : 15 fast bowlers and 15 spinners selected from 650 candidates; Jammu : 11 fast bowlers and 7 spinners selected from 605; Ranchi : 5 fast bowlers and 4 spinners selected from 1550; Raipur : 3 fast bowlers and 3 spinners selected from a record 1750 participants.