Parthiv to lead Rest of India
Parthiv Patel will lead the Rest of India squad in the Irani Cup match against Ranji trophy winners Rajasthan in October
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Sep-2011
Parthiv Patel will lead Rest of India in the Irani Cup match • Getty Images
Wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel will lead Rest of India in the Irani Cup match against Ranji Trophy winners Rajasthan in October. Legspinner Rahul Sharma, who was ruled out of the recent Emerging Player's Tournament in Australia due to a back injury, has been included in the squad.
Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan was named Rest of India's vice-captain. The squad included Mumbai's Ajinkya Rahane, who made his international debut in the ODI series in England, where he opened with Parthiv. Rahane scored 158 runs in five ODIs, averaging 31.60 with one half-century on the tour. He had a strong domestic season in 2010-11, making 609 runs at an average of 87 in the Ranji Trophy.
Tamil Nadu's Abhinav Mukund, who scored 620 runs in the Ranji Trophy and made his Test debut for India on the West Indies tour earlier this year, was in the squad as was Manish Pandey, Karnataka's second-highest scorer in the previous domestic season. Jharkand fast bowler Varun Aaron, who was part of the ODI squad in England but didn't play, was also included.
The Irani Cup, the fixture that begins India's domestic first-class season, will be played in Jaipur from October 1 to 5.
Rest of India squad: Parthiv Patel (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mandeep Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharms, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Prashant Parmeshwaran, Pawan Suyal, Jalaj Saxena, C Gautham.