Parthiv Patel to lead Rest of India in Irani Cup

Diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel was named captain of Rest of India for the Irani Cup match against Ranji champions Rajasthan.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's senior selection committee met at Cricket Centre to pick a 15-member squad for the five-day match, starting October 1 in Jaipur.

Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan was named Patel's deputy, while Ajinkya Rahane, who did well on the recently-concluded England tour, also made it to the squad.

Madhya Pradesh's Jalaj Saxena, meanwhile, is the surprise inclusion.

Ishank Jaggi, who was named in the original squad, is unavailable due to injury and has been replaced by C Gautham.

The squad: Parthiv Patel (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mandeep Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Rahul Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Prashant Parmeshwaran, Pawan Suyal, Jalaj Saxena and C Gautham.