The BCCI on Tuesday announced the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup 2024. Rituraj Gaikwad has been given the command of the 15-member team. Abhimanyu Easwaran has been made the vice-captain. Rest of India will take on Mumbai from October 1 to 5. The match will be played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Mumbai is the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy champion.
Gaikwad and Easwaran performed well in the recent Duleep Trophy. Gaikwad scored 232 and Easwaran scored 309 runs. Easwaran got a lot of accolades by scoring two centuries. Both will be looking to make a mark with the bat once again. At the same time, Sanju Samson did not get a place in the team because Dhruv Jurel and Ishan Kishan have been selected as wicketkeepers. Sanju and Ishan scored centuries in the Duleep Trophy.
Jurel and fast bowler Yash Dayal may be part of the Rest of India, but there is a problem with both of them. Actually, Dayal and Jurel’s participation against Mumbai will depend on not playing in the Kanpur Test. Both are included in the Indian squad for the second Test match against Bangladesh, which will start on September 27. Dayal and Jurel were not part of the playing eleven in the Chennai Test.
Rest of India Squad: Rituraj Gaikwad (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran (Vice Captain), Sai Sudarshan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar.
If Sarfaraz Khan does not get a place in the playing eleven of the Kanpur Test, he can also be released from the Indian team for the Irani Cup. He can be a part of the Mumbai team led by Ajinkya Rahane. BCCI said, “Sarfaraz Khan has been retained in the Indian team for the second Test. If he does not become a part of the playing eleven of the second Test match against Bangladesh in Kanpur, he will be released to represent the Mumbai team.”