• Source:JND

India batter Rajat Patidar will continue as Central Zone captain for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which begins on August 23 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Rinku Singh has been named the team's vice-captain as the defending champions prepare to begin their title defence.

Central Zone lifted the trophy last season after beating South Zone by six wickets in the final at Bengaluru. The selectors have now picked a 15-member squad with the aim of winning back-to-back titles.

Patidar will once again lead the batting unit after finishing as the highest run-scorer in last year's tournament. He will be supported by Rinku Singh, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Ayush Pandey, Aryan Juyal and Yash Rathod. Rathod was the Player of the Match in last season's final after scoring a superb 194.

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The pace attack includes Yash Thakur, Arshad Khan, Aryan Pandey and Nachiket Bhute. The spin department features Saransh Jain, Harsh Dubey and Zeeshan Ansari. Jain was the leading wicket-taker in the previous edition with 16 wickets, while Dubey adds another left-arm spin option alongside leg-spinner Ansari.

According to IANS, Jain has been included in the squad despite also being part of India's squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka. The expectation is that he could be available if Central Zone reaches its opening match, a semi-final scheduled from August 30 to September 2 against the winner of Quarter-final 1.

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The selectors have also announced six standby players: Amandeep Khare, Mayank Mishra, Saurabh Rawat, Bhargav Merai, Kunal Yadav and Kumar Kartikeya. They will be available if any player from the main squad is ruled out during the tournament.

Former Rajasthan cricketer Nikhil Doru has been appointed head coach. Manish Jha will serve as assistant coach, while Zuffri Zakeria has been named team manager. Chandrashekhar Rao will work as the video analyst. The support staff also includes physiotherapist Deshraj Chouhan, strength and conditioning 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


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