Virender Sehwag to lead Rest of India in Irani Cup tie, Sreesanth, Rayudu included

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named Virender Sehwag as captain of Rest of India for the upcoming Irani Cup match against Ranji champions Mumbai to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from February 6-10.

The captaincy appointment should serve as huge motivation for Sehwag, who has been struggling for form in recent times and was axed from the India one-day side for the recent five-match series against England which the hosts won 3-2.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee, which met at Bengaluru on Tuesday, also picked seamer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who is coming off a long injury lay-off.

Madhya Pradesh seamer Ishwar Pandey, who emerged as the highest wicket-taker in this year’s Ranji Trophy, was also included along with talented middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu.

The selection committee also announced the Board President XI side for the two-day warm-up match against Australia to be played at Chennai on February 12 and 13.

The selectors also named the India ‘A’ team for the three-day game against Australia, to be played at Chennai from February 16-18.

Former India and Tamil Nadu opening batsman Abhinav Mukund will lead the Board President XI side, while Shikhar Dhawan will captain the India ‘A’ side.

Teams

Rest of India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha, Harbhajan Singh, S. Sreesanth, Pragyan Ojha, Ishwar Pandey, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Jalaj Saxena.

Board President XI: Abhinav Mukund (captain), Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Parthiv Patel, Stuart Binny, Sarabjit Ladda, Parvez Rassol, Mohammed Shami, Parvinder Awana, Kamlesh Makwana.

INDIA ‘A’: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Jiwanjyot Singh, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Ajinkya Rahane, C. Gautam, Rakesh Dhruv, Jalaj Saxena, Manpreet Gony, Vinay Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ashok Menaria.