New Delhi: Saurashtra captain, Jaydev Shah etched his name on the history of Indian cricket by becoming the first player to captain his side in 100 Ranji Trophy matches when he took the field at Delhi’s Karnail stadium against Vidarbha in the 7th round match of the current season.
The son of former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, Jaydev, made his first class debut in 2002 and the left handed batsman since then has represented Saurashtra in 111 matches.
“It is a memorable feeling. I need to thank my association (Saurashtra Cricket Association), fellow players and the support staff for showing faith in me and giving me this responsibility. It is a proud feeling to become the first person to captain a team in 100 Ranji Trophy matches,” Jaydev was quoted by BCCI.TV.
He had broken the record of playing the most number of Ranji matches as a captain in 2015. Previously the record was with Haryana’s Ravinder Chadha.
Jaydev’s captaincy skills and desire to see Saurashtra lift the Ranji title has kept him going. He came close to live his dream in 2012-13 and 2015-16 seasons when Saurashtra reached the finals but failed to overcome the last hurdle.
He led Saurashtra to their only title, when they lifted the Vijaya Hazare Trophy in 2008.
Serving Saurasthra for 14 seasons, the left handed middle order batsman has scored 4813 runs at an average of 29.16