Irani Cup: Saurashtra hosts Rest of India as 2023-24 home season resumes

The 2023-24 home cricket season will resume on Sunday, with Saurashtra internet hosting the Rest of India crew within the Irani Cup on the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

Packed between an India-Australia ODI on the venue, the Cricket World Cup warm-ups and the World Cup opener on October 5, Jaydev Unadkat will lead the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy champion towards an RoI outfit led by Hanuma Vihari.

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Unadkat, who had a profitable County stint with Sussex, will crew up together with his veteran India teammate Cheteshwar Pujara. A stacked Saurashtra batting lineup will even bear the likes of Arpit Vasavada and Sheldon Jackson for the five-day sport.

Meanwhile, the Rest of India’s batting can be boosted by the presence of Mayank Agarwal, the main run-scorer (990) of the earlier Ranji season. In-form kids Sai Sudharsan, Sarfaraz Khan and Rohan Kunnummal have additionally been named within the 15-member squad. Karnataka’s Vidwath Kaverappa is predicted to steer the tempo assault alongside Navdeep Saini. While India keeper KS Bharat is predicted to don the gloves for RoI, left-armers Shams Mulani, Saurabh Kumar, and offie Pulkit Narang will agency up the spin division.

In February earlier this yr, Saurashtra beat Bengal by 9 wickets to win its second Ranji Trophy title on the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to qualify for the Irani Cup.