Board XI named to play England

Venugopal Rao will lead a strong Board President’s XI, as England commences its tour with a three-day fixture, starting on February 23.

The squad contains several internationals, including Wasim Jaffer and Gautam Gambhir, both of whom toured Pakistan last month. Neither played in any of the Tests, however, as India lost the series 1-0.

Leading the attack for the Board XI will be express pacers, Munaf Patel and VRV Singh. The two are reputedly the quickest bowlers in India. They will be joined by this year’s leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, medium pacer SS Paul.

Other notable inclusions in the squad are Indian ODI players Suresh Raina and Romesh Powar, discarded Test wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, and legspinner Amit Mishra.

Board President’s XI squad
Venugopal Rao (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, S. Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik, Dinesh Jadhav, P Oza, Amit Mishra, Romesh Powar, SS Paul, Shreesanth, Munaf Patel, VRV Singh.