Ahead of their match against West Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-final, the Central Zone has made some roster changes. Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar has been called up to replace the injured Dhruv Jurel. After receiving a dengue diagnosis, Jurel, who was originally named team captain, has been sidelined. Wadkar, who controversially missed out on selection despite leading Vidarbha to their third Ranji Trophy victory earlier this year, has now been given a chance.
After a convincing first-inning victory over North East Zone in the quarterfinal at Bengaluru, Central Zone advanced to the next round. But before the semi-final, the team had to cope with two significant alterations. Due to India’s commitments for the Asia Cup 2025, star spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also withdrawn from the event, while Jurel’s illness has compelled the selectors to bring in Wadkar. Pacer Yash Thakur, who was previously on the list of standby players, has been named as his substitute as a result. The squad will continue to be led by Rajat Patidar, who played a captain’s knock in the quarterfinal.
“Yes, Wadkar has joined the Central Zone squad since Jurel has dengue. According to Hitavada, Vidarbha and Cent zone head coach Usman Ghani stated, “We needed one more stumper in the side and he is not available for the next game.”
Akshay Wadkar has been invited to participate: Source
Akshay Wadkar, meantime, led Vidarbha to their third Ranji Trophy championship and made 722 runs in the 2024–25 season. Despite this, he was not left off of the Central Zone team. He was supposed to be an obvious choice for the leadership position. Akshay Wadkar had initially been left out until Jurel was added in accordance with the BCCI’s directive to give preference to Indian players. With 11 hundreds to his credit, the 31-year-old has amassed almost 3,800 first-class runs at an average of about 49. His inclusion bolsters a Central Zone team that already has a lot of Vidarbha players, including Aditya Thakare, Danish Malewar, Harsh Dubey, and Yash Rathod.
“If an Indian player is available, the teams are required by the BCCI to give him preference. Akshay Wadkar, despite his strong performance, had to miss the bus because Dhruv Jurel was added to the squad. However, Wadkar has been requested to join the squad because Jurel is injured and won’t be able to play in Thursday’s second encounter versus West Zone,” a source said.
After their impressive performance against North East Zone in the quarterfinal, Central Zone is expected to feel confident heading into the semi-final. They batted first and reached 532/4 declared, with captain Rajat Patidar scoring 125 and Danish Malewar scoring a double century (203). Yash Rathod contributed as well, with an undefeated 87. The attack was led by Aditya Thakare and Harsh Dubey with the ball, and the North East Zone was bowled out for 185 in the first innings. Central Zone advanced because of their overwhelming advantage in the opening innings, even though the game ended in a draw.
The updated Central Zone team for the 2025 Duleep Trophy:
Sanjeet Desai, Yash Thakur, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Rajat Patidar (C), Akshay Wadkar, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, and Sanjeet Desai. (Mahipal Lomror, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Madhav Kaushik, Kuldeep Sen, and Upendra Yadav are standbys.)
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