Ishant Sharma named as Delhi captain for Ranji Trophy 2017-18

Veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma has been named as the captain of the Delhi Ranji team for the upcoming edition of the tournament. The 2017-18 edition of Ranji Trophy will kick off in the first week of October. The Delhi selectors have named the 15 man squad for the team. The selection committee comprised of Atul Wassan, Hari Gidwani and Robin Singh Jr.

In a very diverse squad, the selectors have named a few new faces in the side. Veteran batsman Gautam Gambhir is the senior most batsman in the lineup. In addition to Gambhir, the likes of Unmukt Chand and Rishabh Pant are the other two prominent names. Among the youngsters, Himmat Singh and Kunal Chandela have got a call up to the side. Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma will be spearheading the attack.

In the recent times, Ishant has failed to make it to the playing eleven of the national setup. He would want to make amends in the domestic season. The selectors also named the Delhi U23 team in their meeting. Atul Wassan, as per the quotes in Indian Express, mentioned that the selectors are keen on giving opportunities to the younger players.

“We are looking at all options. We want some U-19 players to play their age group because they stand a better chance there with the selectors watching. Injuries forced us to add more players to the probables before the camp begin,” Atul Wassan, chairman of the selection committee, quoted.

“There will be rotations and we will continue to explore all options. Yes, Delhi didn’t have many matches but most of the players were playing cricket with their corporate teams and clubs,” he added.

Delhi Ranji Trophy Squad:

Ishant Sharma (C), Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Nitish Rana, Dhruv Shorey, Milind Kumar, Himmat Singh, Kunal Chandela, Rishabh Pant (WK), Manan Sharma, Vikas Mishra, Pulkit Narang, Navdeep Saini, Vikas Tokas, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Standby players:

Simranjeet Singh, Shivam Sharma, Aditya Kaushik, Harsh Tyagi and Anuj Tyagi.