Sai Kishore to lead TN, no Aparajith in squad

Chennai: Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore was on Monday picked by the senior selection committee to lead Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.The 27-year-old Kishore, who has been a mainstay in the state’s red-ball XI for many years now, captained TN in a Ranji match against Assam in the previous season. Kishore will be the third different skipper for TN this season, after Washington Sundar and Dinesh Karthik led the side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs) respectively.Speaking to TOI about the decision of picking Kishore as the captain, selection panel chairman UR Radhakrishnan said: “We needed a captain who will be available to lead us from the first day. There were other choices, but we wanted a captain who would be with us for the whole season. Kishore is a senior pro; we thought that we should give him an opportunity. He has also played for the country; he will bring in a lot of experience.”Pradosh Ranjan Paul has been named Kishore’s deputy, while youngsters B Sachin and R Vimal Khumar have earned their maiden call-ups. The young batters have been preferred to allrounder and former captain Baba Aparajith, who has been dropped. “We feel that this is the right time to move on and infuse some young blood so that they are ready in two years,” said Radhakrishnan. Squad: R Sai Kishore (C), Pradosh Ranjan Paul (VC), Washington Sundar, B Sai Sudharsan, N Jagadeesan, Baba Indrajith, Vijay Shankar, S Lokeshwar, S Ajith Ram, B Sachin, M Mohammed, Sandeep Warrier, T Natarajan, R Vimal Khumar and Trilok Nag. Note: ‘Guest player’ Kuldeep Sen will be added to the squad if he is available.