Agencies
New Delhi
India Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who has been out of action since straining his left thigh during the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, is set to make a first-class return in the Irani Cup. Saha has been named in the Rest of India side that will take on Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from January 20 to 24.
Cheteshwar Pujara will lead the Rest of India squad, which also includes Saha and Karun Nair among players who featured in India's most recent Test series. There is plenty of first-class experience in the squad, which includes the likes of Abhinav Mukund, Manoj Tiwary, Shardul Thakur, Pankaj Singh and Shahbaz Nadeem, as well as a sprinkling of young players such as the left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, the wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and the seamer K Vignesh, who enjoyed a breakthrough season with Tamil Nadu.
The Rest of India squad was the first one picked by the three-man selection committee comprising MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh, after Gagan Khoda and Jatin Paranjpe were removed in keeping with the Lodha Commitee's recommendations.
Rest of India squad: Abhinav Mukund (Tamil Nadu), Akhil Herwadkar (Mumbai), Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra, captain), Karun Nair (Karnataka), Manoj Tiwary (Bengal), Wriddhiman Saha (Bengal, wk), Kuldeep Yadav (Uttar Pradesh), Shahbaz Nadeem (Jharkhand), Pankaj Singh (Rajasthan), K Vignesh (Tamil Nadu), Siddarth Kaul (Punjab), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Akshay Wakhare (Vidarbha), Ishan Kishan (Jharkhand, wk), Prashant Chopra (Himachal Pradesh).
