Ranji Trophy debutant Chhattisgarh appoint Mohammad Kaif as captain for upcoming season

Raipur: Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif has been appointed the captain of the Chhattisgarh state team which will make its Ranji Trophy debut in the upcoming season. “Glad to be appointed Chhatisgarh’s first captain. Exciting new journey, look forward to working with young talents,” Kaif took to micro-blogging site twitter to announce the news posting a picture with Chhattisgarh Cricket Sangh officials and team’s coach Sulakshan Kulkarni. ALSO READ: India vs West Indies 2016: Ajinkya Rahane believes patience is key to success on slower tracks

Kaif, best known for being the architect of India’s Natwest Trophy victory, way back in 2002, had last played for India 10 years back and has been plying his trade mostly in domestic cricket. He has played 13 Tests in which he scored 624 runs with the best of 148 against the West Indies. In ODIs, he had a comparatively better record of 2753 runs from 125 matches with a modest average of 32 plus. He hit 2 hundreds and 17 half-centuries.

Earlier,  Kaif expressed his disappointment over Board of Control for Cricket in India‘s (BCCI) decision to host Ranji matches at neutral venues. This decision will be enforced in the upcoming season. According to Kaif, it is not feasible for local players to play away from their homeground. Fans wait for Ranji season to watch their favourite players in action. This rule will take the opportunity away from them to witness their hero in action as well as the players’ wish to play in front of their home crowd.