Naman Ojha to lead Rest of India in Irani Cup

Naman Ojha, the Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper, has been chosen to lead the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup, to be played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from March 6 to March 10.

Naman Ojha has been in fine form for Madhya Pradesh this season, scoring six fifties and a century.

Naman Ojha, the Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper, has been chosen to lead the Rest of India team for the Irani Cup, to be played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from March 6 to March 10. The Irani Cup features a one-off match between the Ranji Trophy champion - this season, Mumbai, which defeated Saurashtra by an innings to clinch its 41st title - and a squad comprising an ensemble of eleven potent players from the rest of the states.

Ojha was the second-highest run-getter for his team this season, with 645 runs in nine matches. Saurashtra seamer Jaydev Unadkat also featured in the 15 selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). From Karnataka, the previous Ranji Trophy champions, Karun Nair and Stuart Binny were selected, and so was pacer Krishna Das, an integral part of the impressive campaign of this season's surprise semifinalists, Assam.

“The All-India National Selection Committee met on Friday and announced the Rest of India team for Paytm Z. R. Irani Cup, 2016,” BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur was quoted in a BCCI release.

“The Rest of India team will play against Mumbai, the Paytm Ranji Trophy 2015-16 champions, at the Cricket Club of India, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai from the 6th of March to the 10th of March 2016.”

Earlier on Friday, fast bowler Shardul Thakur claimed five wickets to help Mumbai bowl Saurashtra out for 115 in the Ranji Trophy final, to take >victory by an innings and 21 runs .

Rest of India (RoI) Team: KS Bharat, Faiz Fazal, Karun Nair, Sheldon Jackson, Naman Ojha (Captain), Stuart Binny, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Nathu Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Barinder Sran, Krishna Das, Sudeep Chatterjee, Ian Dev Singh, Akshay Wakhare.