Patidar retained as Central Zone captain, Rinku Singh named vice-captain for Duleep Trophy

Defending champions Central Zone have retained Rajat Patidar as captain and named Rinku Singh vice-captain for the Duleep Trophy beginning on August 23. The 15-member squad features leading performers from last year's tournament as they target another title

New Delhi: India batter Rajat Patidar has been retained as the captain of the Central Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which starts on August 23 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. With Patidar again leading defending champions Central Zone, left-handed batter Rinku Singh has been appointed as the vice-captain.

Defending champions Central Zone, who secured their seventh title after defeating South Zone by six wickets in the previous edition’s final in Bengaluru, have announced a strong 15-member squad aimed at retaining the crown.

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In the batting line-up, Patidar, the leading run-getter in last year’s Duleep Trophy and a two-time IPL-winning skipper, will have the likes of Rinku, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Ayush Pandey, Aryan Juyal and Yash Rathod, Player of the Match in last year’s final with a majestic 194, to outclass opposition bowlers.

The bowling unit boasts a blend of pace and spin, led by seamers Yash Thakur, Arshad Khan, Aryan Pandey, and Nachiket Bhute. The spin department will be spearheaded by off-spinner Saransh Jain, who was the leading wicket-taker in last year’s competition with 16 scalps, and left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey, along with leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari.

IANS understands that Jain, who’s in India’s squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, has been kept in the line-up with an expectation that he could make it to Central Zone’s game, which will be the semi-final clash against the winner of quarter-final 1 from August 30 to September 2.

The Central Zone selection committee has also named a six-member stand-by players list featuring Amandeep Khare, Mayank Mishra, Saurabh Rawat, Bhargav Merai, Kunal Yadav, and Kumar Kartikeya to cover for any potential injuries to any main squad members during the tournament.

Ex-Rajasthan player Nikhil Doru has been named as the side’s head coach, with Manish Jha appointed as the assistant coach. Zuffri Zakeria has been appointed as the team manager while Chandrashekhar Rao is named the video analyst. The medical and physical conditioning team includes physio Deshraj Chouhan, trainer Mayank Agarwal, and masseur Mohit Kumar.

Central Zone squad: Rajat Patidar (captain), Rinku Singh (vice-captain), Aryan Juyal (wicketkeeper), Saransh Jain, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Zeeshan Ansari, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Kunal Singh Rathod (wk), Yash Thakur and Nachiket Bhute

Stand-by players: Amandeep Khare, Mayank Mishra, Saurabh Rawat, Bhargav Merai, Kunal Yadav and Kumar Kartikeya