Duleep Trophy 2023: Yash Dhull Absent from North Zone Squad

Yash Dhull, a former captain of the Indian Under-19 cricket team and also the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) team in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, did not make it to the North Zone squad led by Mandeep Singh for the Duleep Trophy. Dhull had a mediocre season with the bat, scoring only 270 runs in 10 innings. His highest score of 72 came in the team's last league game against Hyderabad.

According to a source familiar with the situation, Dhull's performance didn't provide enough justification for his selection. Other players had performed better, particularly in challenging conditions at Lahli, including middle-order batsmen who scored big centuries.

Dhruv Shorey and Harshit Rana, Dhull's teammates from the same state, were chosen for the squad based on their impressive performances. Shorey amassed 859 runs, including three centuries, as an opener, while Rana led the bowling attack and took 21 wickets in five matches. Rana, in particular, stood out with his ability to bowl long spells at a decent pace.

Prashant Chopra, Prabhsimran Singh, and Dhruv Shorey were selected as the three openers, while Manan Vohra was chosen for the No.3 position in what seems to be a strong squad. The middle-order will consist of Ankit Kumar from Haryana and Ankit Kalsi from Himachal Pradesh.

The experienced seamer Sidharth Kaul will lead the pace bowling department, supported by Baltej Singh, Vaibhav Arora, and Harshit Rana. The spin attack will feature Jayant Yadav, Pulkit Narang, and Abid Mushtaq. Mayank Markande and Mayank Dagar were named as standby players, along with the emerging talent Divij Mehra.

The support staff includes Ajay Ratra as the coach, Deepak Surya as the physio, Rajneesh Mehta as the trainer, Amit Sharma as the performance analyst, Naresh Kumar Motla as the masseur, and Col. Irshad A Khan as the manager. Nehal Wadhera, a promising left-handed batsman who gained recognition for his performances with the Mumbai Indians in the recent Indian Premier League, is also listed as a standby player.

Squad:

• Captain: Mandeep Singh
• Players: Prashant Chopra, Dhruv Shorey, Manan Vohra, Prabhsimran Singh, Ankit Kumar, AS Kalsi, Harshit Rana, Abid Mushtaq, Jayant Yadav, Pulkit Narang, Nishant Sandhu, Sidharth Kaul, Vaibhav Arora, Baltej Singh.

Standbys:

• Mayank Markande, Mayank Dagar, Divij Mehra, Anmol Malhotra, Diwesh Pathania, Ravi Chouhan, Kunal Mahajan, Nehal Wadhera.

Support staff:

• Coach: Ajay Ratra
• Physio: Deepak Surya
• Trainer: Rajneesh Mehta
• Performance Analyst: Amit Sharma
• Masseur: Naresh Kumar Motla
• Manager: Col. Irshad A Khan.