Duleep Trophy 2023: Nehal Wadhera Replaces Injured Mandeep Singh; Jayant Yadav To Lead North Zone Team

The tournament will begin on June 28, with the summit clash set to take place on July 12.

In the upcoming Duleep Trophy, Nehal Wadhera will be replacing the injured veteran batter Mandeep Singh in the North Zone team, as per the BCCI release. The board however did not clear the intensity of Mandeep’s injury and it is noted that the player has suffered a groin injury. Jayant Yadav on the other hand was appointed as the skipper of the North Zone team.

“We received intimation this morning from the Punjab Cricket Association that Mandeep Singh had gotten injured and would be unavailable for the Duleep Trophy. Selectors discussed the issue and unanimously decided that Nehal Wadhera would be the replacement for Mandeep Singh. Since Mandeep Singh was the captain of the side, the Committee also picked Jayant Yadav to lead the North Zone team in the Duleep Trophy,” the statement said.

The Indian domestic season 2023-24 will also begin with the commencement of the Duleep Trophy. A total of six teams will participate and the teams are as follows - East Zone, West Zone, North Zone, South Zone, Central Zone, and North-East Zone. The tournament will begin on June 28, with the summit clash set to take place on July 12.

Earlier, the 2022 U-19 World Cup-winning captain Yash Dhull was not given a place in the North Zone squad. Players like Dhruv Shorey, Harshit Rana, Prashant Chopra, Prabhsimran Singh, and Manan Vohra are there in the squad.

Another major elimination was of veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena who despite being one of the most prominent performers of the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season, did not get a place in the South Zone’s squad.   Playing for Kerala, Saxena scalped 50 wickets in the seven games he played in the last season of the Ranji Trophy and was also useful with the bat as well. As of now in his career, he has gathered 6567 runs to his name, including 14 centuries and 32 half centuries.

Priyank Panchal was asked to lead the West Zone squad while Hanuma Vihari will be seen doing the captain's duty for the South Zone in the tournament. The tournament will be played at Alur Cricket Stadium and M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.