Shivam Mavi will lead the Central Zone team in their upcoming Duleep Trophy quarterfinal match against East Zone at Alur (I) Cricket Ground in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Mavi, who recently made his T20I debut for India, has only played in four First-Class matches in the 2022-23 season. Nonetheless, he emerged as a promising talent with 19 wickets for Uttar Pradesh in the limited Ranji Trophy games. Mavi will be supported by Upendra Yadav, the team’s deputy captain and Railways’ red-ball captain.
Central Zone will field a strong batting line-up that includes promising young talent Himanshu Mantri, opener Vivek Singh, and the experienced Akshay Wadkar, along with the in-form Rinku Singh. Their spin department consists of Saurabh Kumar, Manav Suthar, and Saransh Jain, while Avesh Khan and Yash Thakur will lead their pace attack.
All eyes will be on the East Zone captain, Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has recently fallen down the pecking order for India’s Test openers. Easwaran will head a familiar pack, with six of his 14 teammates hailing from Bengal. They have a formidable spin attack that includes veteran Shahbaz Nadeem, along with left-armers Shahbaz Ahmed and Anukul Roy. Meanwhile, Akash Deep will lead their pacers, having emerged as the leading wicket-taker among pacers in the 2022-23 Ranji season.
The weather in Bengaluru is expected to play a role in the outcome of this game, with showers forecasted throughout the week. Nonetheless, both teams are prepared to test their smarts in the testing conditions.
The match promises to be an exciting showcase of young Indian talent as both teams compete for the coveted Duleep Trophy.
