Manoj Tiwary to lead Rest of India XI in Irani Cup

Manoj Tiwary of Bengal will be leading the Rest of India XI for the Irani Cup match against Ranji trophy champions Karnataka to be held from March 17-21 at Bengaluru, the Indian cricket board announced here on Thursday.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee, which met here during the day, finalised the 15-member, squad, according to a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) release.

The squad includes swashbuckling Delhi opener Unmukt Chand and Maharastra middle-order mainstay Kedar Jadhav, who would be expected to play a pivotal role in holding together the Rest of India batting line-up.

The pace attack will be spearheaded by Jharkhand's Varun Aaron who is known to click 140 kilometers per hour with ease. Supporting him will be Shardul Thakur of Mumbai.

The spinning department will be marshalled by veteran left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha from Hyderabad.

Rest of India XI squad:

Unmukt Chand - DDCA, Jiwanjot Singh - Punjab CA, Paras Dogra - HPCA, Manoj Tiwary - CAB (Captain), Kedar Jadhav - Maharashtra CA, Naman Ojha - MPCA, Rishi Dhawan - HPCA, Jayant Yadav - Haryana CA, Pragyan Ojha - Hyderabad CA, Shardul Thakur - Mumbai CA, Varun Aaron - Jharkhand SCA, Rush Kalaria - Gujarat CA, Aparajith Baba - TNCA ,Jalaj Saxena - MPCA, Vijay Shankar - TNCA