Former India chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma who had stepped down from the role following a controversial sting operation by a news channel donned the selector’s hat again as North Zone’s 15-member squad for upcoming Duleep Trophy was announced on June 15.
The selection meeting took place at Gurgaon Cricket Ground in the presence of Anirudh Chaudhary who had previously served as treasurer for Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Along with a 15-member squad which will be led by Mandeep Singh, eight standby players, coach and support staff was announced as well for the Duleep Trophy which will be held in Bangalore from June 28 to July 16.
The former Indian cricketer had served as the chairman of selectors for the senior side. After he stepped down, the spot for chairman of selectors is yet to be filled. Since the scandal, Shiv Sunder Das has taken his place as the interim chief selector.
Ranji Trophy records
Playing for Punjab, Mandeep had scored 463 runs from 10 innings including one century and two half-centuries in Ranji Trophy 2023. Delhi's Dhruv Shorey who was the fourth-highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy 2023 is a part of the squad as well. Shorey scored 859 runs from 12 innings at an average of 95.44 including three centuries and two fifties. In the bowling department, Baltej Singh took 37 wickets from eight games including three fifers.
IPL sensation in standbys
While the 15-member squad is a blend of veterans and youngsters, the list of standby players includes Nehal Wadhera who proved his mettle for Mumbai Indians (MI) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
North Zone squad: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Prashant Chopra, Dhruv Shorey, Ankit Kalsi, Mandeep Singh (c), Ankit Kumar, Pulkit Narang, Nishant Sindhu, Manan Vohra, Jayant Yadav, Baltej Singh, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Sidharth Kaul, Abid Mushtaq
Standbys: Mayank Dagar, Mayank Markande, Ravi Chauhan, Anmol Malhotra, Nehal Wadehra, Diwesh Pathania, Divij Mehra, Kunal Mahajan
Support staff -
Coach: Ajay Ratra, Physiotherapist: Deepak Surya, Trainer: Rajneesh Mehta, Performance Analyst: Amit Sharma, Masseur: Naresh Kumar Motla, Manager: Col. Ishan A Khan
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