Slow left-arm bowler Shahbaz Nadeem has been selected as captain of the Jharkhand Ranji team for the forthcoming session. The Ranji match between Jharkhand and Goa will be played at Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur from October 30 to November 2.
The Bokaro lad, Nadeem, who made his debut against Kerala in December, 2004 at Jamshedpur, had bagged 92 wickets at an average of 34.34 in 33 first class matches. In IPl too, Delhi Daredevils player Nadeem scalped altogether seven wickets including three for 16 against Deccan Chargers.
Rajesh Verma, secretary, Jharkhand State Cricket Association said: "As three of our players have been called from BCCI for India U-19 Challenger Trophy and one player Varun Aaron for India Team, Shahbaz Nadeem will now lead the State team.
The following team has been selected to represent Ranji Team: Shahbaz Nadeem (Captain), Prakash Munda, S.P.Gautam, Ishank Jaggi, Saurabh Tiwary, Anand Singh Sumit Kumar, Kumar Deobrat, Rahul Shukla, Jaskaran Singh, Ajay Yadav, Ashish Kumar, Basukinath, Sunny Gupta and Samar Quadri.
Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) had earlier zeroed in on Team India speedster Varun Aaron for leading the state in the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches.
The State association was keen to hand over the captaincy to 26-year-od Aaron, the fastest bowler in the country.
JSCA secretary said that they wanted to use Aaron's experience for the benefit of Jharkhand's senior outfit but his selection in Team India has made them drop their plans.
Meanwhile another player to watch for will be Kumar Deobrat, a former India under-19 cricketer, who replaced southpaw Saurabh Tiwary as skipper midway into the last season. JSCA is keen to groom the 22-year-old Deobrat.