Murali Kartik to lead 15-man Railways squad

Murali Kartik has been entrusted with the captaincy of the Railways squad © Getty Images

Murali Karthik, the left-arm spinner, will lead a 15-member Railways squad in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season [November 2007 to January 2008], where his side will be competing in the Plate League.

The news comes in the wake of Kartik's comeback to the national side. Karthik, 31, had earned a recall to the Indian one-day team after consistent performances in the English county circuit playing for Middlesex, with whom he has signed on for the 2008 season.

"It is always a great honour and pleasure to play for the country and I will enjoy the responsibility given to me by Railways," Kartik told the Hindu. "We are all focussed to get back to the Elite League."

The new faces in the Railways squad are Mahesh Rawat, Sabir Ali and Musavir Khote. Rawat, a wicketkeeper, had represented Haryana in the previous Ranji season and represented India A in one game during the tour to Kenya. Ali, 22, is a right-arm medium pace bowler who has played for Tripura while Khote, an allrounder, has played for Mumbai.

Railways have not yet named a coach. Jai Prakash Yadav, Tejinder Pal Singh and Shreyas Khanolkar have not been included after they had signed contracts with the Indian Cricket League.

Railways start their Ranji Trophy campaign on November 3 when they take on Jammu & Kashmir in Delhi.

Railways squad
Murali Kartik (capt), Sanjay Bangar (vice-captain), Amit Pagnis, Kulamani Parida, Harvinder Singh, Sanjib Sanyal, Rahul Deb, Raja Ali, Santosh Saxena, Musavir Khote, Mahesh Rawat (wk), Madan Yadav, Siddharth Joshi, Sabir Ali, Harshad Rawle