Kaif to lead Rest of India against Mumbai in Irani Trophy

Mumbai, Sep 27 (UNI) India discard Mohd Kaif has been chosen to lead the Rest of India squad that will face Ranji champions, Mumbai in the domestic season opener Irani Trophy match to be played at Rajkot from October 6 to 10.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad here today which includes youngsters Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina and Ishant Sharma.

Injury-prone pace bowler Munaf Patel has also been chosen in the team, while former India opener Akash Chopra gets a chance to prove himself once again.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai selectors have also announced their team which will be led by Amol Muzumdar with Test opener Wasim Jaffer being his deputy.

Vinayak Mane who led Mumbai to the Mohd Nissar trophy by beating Karachi has been left out in the cold.

The teams: Rest of India: Mohd Kaif (c), Parthiv Patel (v-c, wicket-keeper), Akash Chopra, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, Yo Mahesh, Ranadeb Bose, Arjun Yadav.

Mumbai team: A Muzumdar (c), Wasim Jaffer (v-c), Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Prashant Naik, Hiken Shah, Ajit Agarkar, Vikrant Yellgatti, Iqbal Abdullah, Rajesh Varma, Dhaval Kulkarni, Avishkar Salvi, Omkar Gurav (w-k), Abhisekh Nair.

Umpires: K Hariharan, S K Tarapore, Third Umpire: R M Deshpande, Match Referee: Manu Nayar.

UNI