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Ajinkya Rahane to lead West Zone in Duleep Trophy

Batter has been out with injury since May; Central Zone squad also named

PTI
24-Aug-2022
Ajinkya Rahane has not played competitive cricket since May this year  •  AFP via Getty Images

Ajinkya Rahane has not played competitive cricket since May this year  •  AFP via Getty Images

A fit-again Ajinkya Rahane will lead a powerful West Zone side in the Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled to be played in Tamil Nadu from September 8 to 25.
It was reported by PTI last Sunday that Rahane, who is recuperating from a groin injury, will make a comeback to competitive cricket at the Duleep Trophy.
Rahane has not played competitive cricket since May, when he picked up an injury while turning out for Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL. He missed the Ranji Trophy knockouts for Mumbai due to injury.
Mumbai eventually finished runners-up, and several members of that squad, including internationals Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur, have been picked. Others from Mumbai in the squad include Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shams Mulani, Hardik Tamore and Tanush Kotian.
From Saurashtra, veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat and Rahul Tripathi, who recently made it to national squad for the Zimbabwe ODIs, make it to the West Zone squad.
Central Zone also announced their squad, with most of the stars of Madhya Pradesh's Ranji Trophy winning squad in the side, including Yash Dubey, Shubham Sharma and Kumar Kartikeya. Venkatesh Iyer, who last played first-class cricket in 2020, has also been included.
West Zone squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt; Mumbai), Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai), Hardik Tamore (wk; Mumbai), Shams Mulani (Mumbai), Tanush Kotian (Mumbai), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Rahul Tripathi (Maharashtra), Satyajeet Bachhav (Maharashtra), Het Patel (Gujarat), Chintan Gaja (Gujarat), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra), Chirag Jani (Saurashtra), Atit Sheth (Baroda)
Central Zone squad: Karan Sharma (capt; Uttar Pradesh), Shubham Sharma (vice-capt; Madhya Pradesh), Himanshu Mantri (wk; Madhya Pradesh), Yash Dubey (Madhya Pradesh), Priyam Garg (Uttar Pradesh), Rinku Singh (Uttar Pradesh), Ashok Menaria (Rajasthan), Akshay Wadkar (wk; Vidarbha), Gaurav Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Venkatesh Iyer (Madhya Pradesh), Deepak Dhapola (Uttarakhand), Aniket Choudhary (Rajasthan), Kumar Kartikeya (Madhya Pradesh), Aditya Sarwate (Vidarbha), Ankit Rajpoot (Uttar Pradesh)
Edited PTI copy