Mohammed Siraj named captain of Hyderabad

Mohammed Siraj has been appointed captain of the Hyderabad team. He will lead the side in the Ranji Trophy matches against Mumbai and Chhattisgarh later this month. This will be Siraj's first stint as Hyderabad captain, replacing Rahul Singh.

Hyderabad are placed fourth in Elite Group D with one win and one draw from five games. They play Mumbai in Hyderabad from January 22, followed by the last league fixture, also at home, against Chhattisgarh from January 29. Rahul Singh has been named vice-captain.

The Mumbai game will be Siraj's first Ranji Trophy match of the season, having been unavailable for his domestic side due to national commitments. Currently, he is part of the Indian ODI squad and is playing in Rajkot.

Siraj, 31, a veteran of 109 internationals - including 45 Tests, 48 ODIs and 16 T20Is - has featured in 19 first-class matches for Hyderabad. He has taken 77 wickets at an average of 23.29 and a strike rate of 45.2. Overall, Siraj has played 88 first-class matches and has claimed 309 wickets at an average of 26.44.

The Siraj appointment was announced on Wednesday by the selection committee which has also included Aman Rao Perala, who scored a double century recently in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game. The committee headed by P Hari Mohan, has NP Singh, Jyoti Shetty, Sheik Riyazuddin and Akash Bhandari as other members of the panel.

Squad: Md Siraj (Captain), G Rahul Singh (Vice Captain), CV Milind, Tanay Thyagarajan, K Rohit Rayudu, K Himateja, A Varun Goud, M Abhirath Reddy, Rahul Radesh (WK), Aman Rao Perala, CTL Rakshann Readdi, N Nitin Sai Yadav, Kanala Nitesh Reddy, Sai Pragnay Reddy (WK) and B Punnaiah.

Standbys: Mickil Jaiswal, A Avanish Rao (WK), Kartikeya Kak, Pranav Varma and P Nitish Reddy.