Manhas to lead Delhi Ranji team in Sehwag's absence

New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) Mithun Manhas has been selected to captain the Delhi Ranji team in the elite Group A for 2006-07.

The Ranji season for Delhi is set to get off the block with their first match against Tamil Nadu from November 23 at Ferozeshah Kotla here.

Delhi start sans swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag due to his ongoing engagements against the Proteas.

A lot is at stake for Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra as the two makes a strong pitch for their inclusion in the Indian team that will travel to the Carribeans. Even Akash Chopra will look to capitalise on his good showing recently against the Sri Lankan A team.

The DDCA has roped in Pakistan's Sarfraz Nawaz for a ten-day clinic to provide tips to the Delhi cricket team.

Following is the squad selected by the six-member selection committee, headed by Atul Wasan.

1. Mithun Manhas (Capt), 2. Shikhar Dhawan, 3. Gautam Gambhir, 4.

Akash Chopra 5. Virat Kohli, 6. Rajat Bhatia, 7. Viojay Dahiya, 8.

Mayank Tehlan, 9. Ashish Nehra, 10.Amit Bhandari, 11.Ishant Sharma, 12.Kuunal Lall, 13.Chetnya Nanda, 14.Yogesh Sachdeva, 15.Rahul Sanghvi Standbys : 1.Kuldeep Prawat, 2.Sohail Sharma, 3.Ashish Malhotra, 4.Puneet Bisht Coach : Chetan Chauhan UNI SAM DH BD1930