The Central Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy has been announced, with India wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel named as captain.
Jurel was recently part of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series in England, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Though he didn’t feature in the first two Tests, he stepped in as a substitute wicketkeeper in the next two. In the fifth Test at The Oval, Jurel earned a place in the playing XI after Rishabh Pant was ruled out due to a foot injury. He impressed with his glovework but couldn’t make a strong impact with the bat under pressure.
The Central Zone squad also includes spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who many experts and former players had backed to be part of India’s XI during the England series. However, he did not get a single game during the tour.
Rajat Patidar has also been named in the squad, although his participation remains uncertain due to an ongoing injury. Fast bowler Deepak Chahar has been included and is expected to add depth with the new ball, while left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, who recently featured in county cricket in England, has also secured a place.
Other key names in the squad are Saransh Jain, Aditya Thakare, Harsh Dubey, and Manav Suthar. The list of standby players includes Kuldeep Sen, Mahipal Lomror, Upendra Yadav, Madhav Kaushik, Yuvraj Chaudhary, and Yash Thakur.
Central Zone squad: Jurel (c/wk), Rajat Patidar*, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanchit Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed
Standbys: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav.
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