Naman Ojha to lead Rest of India against Mumbai in Irani Cup

Naman Ojha, the Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman, will lead Rest of India team when they clash with the Ranji champions, Mumbai, during the Irani Cup.

Ojha has played one Test match, one one-day international and two Twenty20 Internationals for India.

The annual match will be played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from March 6 to 10. The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) All-India National Selection Committee met on Friday and announced the Rest of India team, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in a statement.

Earlier, the Aditya Tare led side ended Saurashtra’s dream run in the final after restricting them to 235 in the first innings. Shreyas Iyer was at his best in the big game and powered Mumbai to 371 with his incredible century. Though they looked in trouble, Mumbai managed a good lead of 136 runs in the first knock. In the second innings, Saurashtra stumbled and were all out for 115, thus, Mumbai lifted the prestigious trophy for the 41st time.

Mumbai not only won the Ranji Trophy but also earned the right to compete for the Irani Cup.

The match is named after Z.R. Irani, who was associated with the BCCI from its inception in 1928 till his death in 1970. Last year, Ranji champions Karnataka beat the Rest of India to lift the Irani Cup.

Rest of India Squad:

Srikar Bharat, Faiz Fazal, Karun Nair, Sheldon Jackson, Naman Ojha (C), Stuart Binny, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Nathu Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Barinder Sran, Krishna Das, Sudip Chatterjee, Ian Dev Chauhan, Akshay Wakhare.