Defending Champs Begin Campaign At Jamtha From Oct 11
Nagpur: After missing out on a few matches during the fag end of the last season due to injury, Akshay Wadkar is back at the helm of Vidarbha’s Ranji team. The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) selectors are opting for the tried and tested, with the squad remaining mostly unchanged from the last season, barring entry of Rajneesh Gurbani.One of the key architects of Vidarbha’s maiden Ranji Trophy triumph in 2017-18, Gurbani moved to Maharashtra in 2024. The medium pacer’s homecoming will further crowd the seam bowling unit serviced by Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute, Praful Hinge, Darshan Nalkande, Saurabh Dubey and Shubham Kapse.With Thakur representing India ‘A’ in the unofficial ODI series against Australia ‘A’, Gurbani has been added to the squad for Vidarbha’s opener against Puducherry to be played at Jamtha Stadium from Oct 11-14.Former champions Vidarbha have been placed in Elite Group. Defending champions Jammu & Kashmir are also in the same group along with Madhya Pradesh, Baroda, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Goa.Yash Rathod, included in the India ‘A’ team for the New Zealand tour, has been named vice-captain of the Vidarbha team. With the India ‘A’ tour running from Oct 24 to Nov 10, Rathod is set to miss the second, third and fourth-round Ranji matches. The batting unit consisting of Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Danish Malewar and two professionals Dhruv Shorey and R Samarth will have to step up in Rathod’s absence.Harsh Dubey, who took over captaincy in Wadkar’s absence, will again lead the Vidarbha spin attack. Parth Rekhade, Yash Kadam and Ganesh Bhosale are the other spinners named in the team.In the first leg of the Ranji Trophy, Vidarbha will play three matches at home against Puducherry, Goa and Madhya Pradesh. The team will travel to Srinagar to play their second-round match against Jammu & Kashmir from Oct 18.
