Irfan Pathan appointed Baroda skipper for the upcoming Ranji season

The Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) named all-rounder Irfan Pathan the skipper for the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season. Baroda selectors selected the squad on Sunday after considering all the options available ahead of them and the opponents they will be up against.

All-rounder Deepak Hooda has been bestowed with the responsibility of vice-captaincy. In their first encounter, Baroda will play against state mates Gujarat from October 6 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

BCA secretary Snehal Parikh who was convener in the selection committee meeting praised the skipper Pathan and said that he has proved himself and is carrying great form. “We had good range of players to pick up from as all were completely fit. Irfan has proved his mettle as a skipper and he is in good form too. Our batting line-up is very strong this time and the team also has good all-rounders,” he said.

Irfan led the Baroda team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali last season and they did exceptionally well to get to the finals though ended second losing to Uttar Pradesh in the title clash. The left-arm seamer was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament and had inspired the team to put up some really good performances beating odds at various junctures.

Also read – Mumbai announce squad for the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 opener against Tamil Nadu

He was also the Man of the Tournament in the recently concluded JP Atray Memorial tournament for his all-round performance. Following their victory Irfan was quoted by TOI saying, “I am happy with the performance of our team as we all played well as a unit. This win has boosted our confidence ahead of the Ranji Trophy and I am glad I could contribute during crucial occasions in the tourney,”

The elder Pathan brother Yusuf too has been in red hot form since the IPL where he played match winning knocks for his team Kolkata Knight Riders on more than a couple of occasions. Yusuf was also considered to be in the fray of an India recall for the way he finished matches for KKR. All the important eyes will be on the attacking batsman and how he fares in the Ranji Trophy this season.

Another important member of the team is young all-rounder Hardik Pandya who will join the team having gained precious experience during the tour of Australia with the India A team. He was a part of the team for both limited-overs games as well as the unofficial Tests.

The selectors have also shown faith in young Vira Bhosle who is a new addition to the team as the second wicketkeeper. Martin Jacob who was the coach of the Baroda team in the previous season has been given an extension of term.

Also read – No need for the Pink Ball in Tests: Virender Sehwag

A major change introduced in the format of the Ranji Trophy this season is that all the matches will be played at neutral venue. This move is to cut down the home advantage factor from the tournament.

Baroda squad for the first game against Gujarat and second match against Mumbai:

Irfan Pathan (C), Deepak Hooda (vice-captain), Yusuf Pathan, Munaf Patel, Hardik Pandya, Kedar Devdhar, Aditya Wagmode, Swapnil Singh, Dhiren Mistry, Krunal Pandya, Pinal Shah (wk), Gagandeep Singh, Sagar Malglorkar, Vishnu Solanky, Viraj Bhosle (wk)