Ranji Trophy 2017/18: Wasim Jaffer Included in Vidarbha Squad, Faiz Fazal Retained as Captain
Oct 7, 2017 at 8:38 PM
Veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer has been named in the Vidarbha squad, led by Faiz Fazal. Jaffer missed the previous season due to an injury, and his return is a big boost for the side.
He broke his 19-year-old ties with Mumbai before the start of 2015/16 season to join Vidarbha. At present, he is the third professional in the side apart from vice-captain Ganesh Satish and Karn Sharma – who switched his base to the state before the start of this season. Though the team is set to miss Karn’s services due to his commitments with India A.
There can be the case when he might miss a significant part of the season. Karn has drawn selectors’ attention riding on his superb bowing in the Duleep Trophy and India A series. Vidarbha squad includes likes of Ravi Jangid, Rajneesh Gurbani, Akshay Wakhare and the ambidextrous bowler Akshay Karnewar. They are a strong side, especially with the comeback of Jaffer, but they have to perform on the big stages against the big teams.
Last year, they won and lost two games apiece, fishing on the sixth position on the points table. This time, the team has all the basis covered, and the addition of Karn adds to the weight of the side. Placed in Group D, a Karn Sharma sans Vidarbha will face Punjab in their opening contest of the season. Punjab’s vice-captain Yuvraj Singh is expected to make his comeback to the side for the second game, which will get played in Chandigarh.
Squad: Faiz Fazal (Captain), Ganesh Satish (Vice-captain), Wasim Jaffer, Ravi Jangid, Rajneesh Gurbani, Akshay Karnewar, Lalit Yadav, Siddesh Neral, Sanjay Ramaswamy, Aditya Sarwate, Jitesh Sharma, Ravikumar Thakur, Akshay Wakhare, Apoorv Wankhede, Siddhesh Wath.