Middle order batsman Mohammad Kaif was retained as the skipper of Uttar Pradesh Ranji team for 2007-08 as a 14-member squad was announced in Kanpur on Sunday.

The squad announced by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association also included left-handed batsman Suresh Raina and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

Former champions UP will play its first match on November three against Orissa in Cuttack.

Squad: Mohammed Kaif (Capt), Suresh Raina, Shivkant Shukla, Piyush Chawla, Ravikant Shukla, Tamnay Srivastav, Mohammad Amir Khan, Rohit Prakash, Rahat Ilahi,, Ratnesh Mishra, Praveen Gupta, Suraj Pratap, Sudeep Tyagi, Raj Singh.

Reserve players: Tahir Abbas, Parvinder Singh, Anshul Kapoor, Abhishek Tiwari.