'Released' Gambhir set to play Ranji; Ishant also named in Delhi sqaud

'Released' Gambhir set to play Ranji; Ishant also named in Delhi sqaud

New Delhi: Veteran batsman Gautam Gambhir is all set to be released by the Indian team management as the selection committee of DDCA has named him in the 16-member Delhi squad for the Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan.

Ishant Sharma, who is also not in the playing XI, has been named as the 16th member but the selection committee is still not sure whether he would be released as the fast bowlers are normally kept for bowling at the nets.

The match, beginning November 21 at Wayanad in Kerala will feature Shikhar Dhawan, who is making a comeback after recovering from a thumb injury.

"The selectors have spoken to Gautam and he has expressed his interest in playing the next round encounter as he will be getting valuable match time. That's the reason we have named Gautam in the squad. In case, we don't get him, we have kept Himmat Singh as cover," a member of the selection panel told PTI today.

The press release issued by DDCA does not mention the name of the captain and the official said that skipper Unmukt Chand during today's meeting has told the members that he would like Gambhir to captain the team.

The meeting was attended by selectors Nikhil Chopra, Atul Wassan, Robin Singh Junior along with coach KP Bhaskar, Chand and Co-Convenor Siddharth Sahib Singh.

Squad: Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Shikhar  Dhawan, Dhruv  Shorey, Milind Kumar, Nitish Rana, Rishabh  Pant, Manan Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Navdeep Saini, Sumit Narwal, Vikas Tokas, Sarthak Ranjan, Pulkit Narang, Varun Sood, Ishant Sharma. Stand By: Himmat Singh.