Baba Indrajith To Lead Tamil Nadu In Ranji Trophy 2018-19

Tamil Nadu, on Monday, appointed Baba Indrajith as their skipper for the upcoming season of  the Ranji Trophy.

Abhinav Mukund has paid the price for his poor form as well as Tamil Nadu’s disastrous Ranji Trophy campaign last season. Despite being one of the favourites, the two-time champions were knocked out of India’s premier tournament after the first round, finishing fourth in their group which had the likes of Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra, Tripura, Assam and Baroda.

They drew five out of their six matches, taking the first-innings lead in three of them, before losing their last group game against Baroda, ending the season without a single win under their belt.

And ahead of the new season, the selectors took the big call of replacing Mukund with Baba Indrajith as the skipper. This will not be the first time, Indrajith will be leading the state side. He had previously led the side in 2015 against Mumbai. However, he was a stand-in skipper in absence of full-time skipper Abhinav Mukund.

India allrounder Vijay Shankar was the front-runner to replace Mukund as skipper. However, the selectors went for Indrajith due to uncertainties over Shankar’s presence.  The allrounder is likely to be a part of India A squad for the New Zealand tour next month.

“Vijay Shankar was definitely one of the top choices to lead the side in Ranji Trophy this year. He has been leading our limited-overs side for the last few seasons and the time was right for him to take over in all formats.

“However, with his likely inclusion in the India ‘A’ squad which tours New Zealand around mid-November to play two unofficial four-day Tests, we chose to go with Indrajith. We wanted to make sure that our captain will not only fit well into the role but also be available for the full season,” a TNCA official said.

Twin brother of former India Under-19 star Baba Aparajith, Indrajith has enjoyed a fine run in domestic cricket since making his debut in 2013. So far, he has played 42 first-class matches, scoring 2662 runs at an average of 49.29.

Expressing his delight over the new role, Indrajith said he was expecting to get the captain’s role.

“Having been the vice-captain for the last few years, I realised that the opportunity to lead the side will come to me at some point. I am happy to be named the captain and hope to do full justice to the faith shown on me by the selectors,” Indrajith told TOI.

With a new captain at the helm, Tamil Nadu will be looking to do well this season. They are in Elite Group ‘B’ this season along with challenging teams such as Delhi, Punjab, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Tamil Nadu begin their campaign against Madhya Pradesh at Dindigul on November 1.