Kaif, Mongia to play for Leicestershire

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has granted permission to Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia to play a few matches for English county Leicestershire during the Indian team's on-going tour.

The county had approached the Indian team to allow Kaif and Mongia to play for it, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement from Rajkot on Sunday.

He said in view of the ensuing ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, the board felt it is imperative that Kaif and Mongia stay "match fit".

Since both the players are not in the Test squad and not too many first class matches may be available to them, the board felt that it would be beneficial for both the players to accept the offer, Shah added.

(c) Copyright 2002 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.