Symonds to captain Queensland Bulls on Tuesday

Brisbane, Sept.29 : Out of favour Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds' road to redemption continues. On Tuesday, he will captain Queensland for the first time.

The disciplined Australian all-rounder received a surprise captaincy appointment on Monday to lead the Bulls against Indian Twenty20 franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.

The left-field decision ahead of new captain Chris Simpson sees Queensland doing its best to help present Symonds as a reformed character after he was overlooked for the four-Test tour of India due to his "gone-fishing" episode in the Northern Territory.

Simpson will also play in the practice match at Brisbane's Allan Border Field - the second of two bash-and-crash friendlies on the day - as will former Bulls captain Martin Love.

Fox Sports quoted Bulls coach Trevor Barsby as saying that the decision was one of a few experiments he would be using in the practice games to trial different line-ups and scenarios.

Symonds has ticked all the boxes in his comeback to date, issuing a public apology for the Darwin debacle before swallowing his pride and hitting the Brisbane grade scene.

There's been speculation he's been pencilled in as a shadow player by Australian selectors for the Indian tour, so impressed have they been by his handling of the setback.

But Symonds did fail to set the world on fire in his provincial return on Sunday and will want to showcase his talents better on Tuesday.

Veteran Bulls Love and Andy Bichel will make their first appearances in Queensland colours this season with Bichel playing as a middle-order batsman in the first game and Love opening the batting in the second.

ANI