Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Krunal Pandya appointed Baroda skipper for the upcoming season

Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) has appointed the Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya as Baroda skipper for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. He will replace Deepak Hooda at the helm who led the side in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. Hooda has also been the captain of the side for the last couple of first-class seasons and it is a surprising move for many as Krunal has played only a solitary first-class game so far in his career.

However, it seems that his exceptional performance in the One-Day tournament has impressed the selectors an the fact that Krunal was recently picked in India’s T20I side against England must have gone his way as well. The left-arm spinner has been the consistent performer for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL over the last couple of years and no wonder will be looking to resurrect his first-class career this season.

Experience of playing for India A

Snehal Parikh, BCA secretary, singled out Krunal Pandya’s experience of playing with the senior players in the other tournaments and hoped that it will work for him while leading Baroda. He has also played a lot for India A now which was one of the reasons for him being appointed the skipper. “Krunal has experience of playing with senior players in the Indian Premier League and he has also been a part of India A teams,” she was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Snehal also went on to say that the selectors took this decision in the review meeting which was also attended by Deepak Hooda who led the team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

“Our team has always been good on paper but we want them to win the games too. So Krunal has been made skipper of the team that has both experienced and new players. It was a review meeting where all selectors met to discuss the potential team. The skipper of last season’s Ranji squad, Deepak Hooda was also called for the meet and all possibilities were discussed,” BCA secretary added.

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