Laxman to lead Rest of India

Hyderabad batsman V V S Laxman, who was ruled out of the upcoming triseries in South Africa following a knee injury, gets an opportunity to play himself back into contention ahead of the Test series there when he leads the Rest of India team in the five-day Irani Trophy cricket match against Ranji Trophy champions Baroda, at Pune, from October 12 to 16.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India received a fitness certificate from Laxman on Wednesday, which said he started net practice two weeks ago in Hyderabad and was also scheduled to play in a local league match on Saturday, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters in Bombay on Thursday.

Selection committee chairman Chandu Borde said the selectors picked mostly youngsters in the Rest side for long-term benefits.

"Most of the players we have selected are in their early twenties, so that we can have a strong second string as replacements when the situation arises," he said.

The youngsters in the team include Haryana wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, Railways' batsman Yere Gowd, Mumbai's opening batsman Vinayak Mane, Delhi's Akash Chopra, Orissa's R Parida, Jammu and Kashmir's Surender Singh and Kerala's T Yohannan.

The experienced players include Maharashtra batsman Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Orissa's Debashish Mohanty, two spinners Rahul Sanghvi and Sharandeep Singh, and Dinesh Mongia.

The team: V V S Laxman (captain, Hyderabad), Akash Chopra and Rahul Sanghvi (Delhi), Dinesh Mongia and Sharandeep Singh (Punjab), Vinayak Mane (Mumbai), Yere Gowd (Railways), Hrishikesh Kanitkar (Maharashtra), R Parida and Debashish Mohanty (Orissa), Ajay Ratra (Haryana), S Srivastava (UP), T Yohannan (Kerala), Surender Singh (J & K).

Mail Cricket Editor