INDIA CRICKET
Thakur will lead the 15-member squad. © Getty
The West Zone Selection Committee has named Shardul Thakur as captain of a 15-member West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy matches. The team announcement, made following a selection meeting held at MCA’s Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy in BKC on Friday (August 1), features seven Mumbai players, four from Gujarat, and two each from Maharashtra and Saurashtra.
Apart from Thakur, the big names from Mumbai include Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan, Maharashtra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad is also part of the team. Meanwhile, former India regulars Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara haven’t been named in the squad.
The committee, chaired by Sanjay Patil of Mumbai Cricket Association, has also named a comprehensive list of seven standby players: Mahesh Pithiya, Shivalik Sharma, Mukesh Chaudhary, Siddharth Desai, Chintan Gaja, Musheer Khan and Urvil Patel.
The tournament begins on August 28 with the two quarterfinals. West Zone, who have a direct entry in the semifinal, begin their campaign on September 4. The final will be played from September 11. All matches will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence ground in Bengaluru.
West Zone squad: Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala
© Cricbuzz
