The Central Zone has made some roster changes ahead of its Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-final match against the West Zone, with Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar coming in to replace the injured Dhruv Jurel. Jurel, who was initially selected team captain, has been sidelined after being diagnosed with dengue.
The development has paved the way for Wadkar, who was controversially snubbed during selection despite leading Vidarbha to their third Ranji Trophy title earlier this year.
Central Zone advanced to the next round with a comprehensive first-innings victory over North East Zone in the quarter-finals at Bengaluru. However, the squad had to deal with two significant alterations before the semi-final. While Jurel’s illness caused the selectors to bring in Wadkar, ace spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also withdrew from the event due to India’s Asia Cup 2025 obligations. As a result, pacer Yash Thakur, who had previously been on the standby list, has been picked as his replacement. Rajat Patidar, who scored a captain’s knock in the quarter-finals, will continue to lead the squad.
“Yes, Wadkar has been included in Central Zone team since Jurel is suffering from dengue. He is not available for the next game and we needed one more stumper in the side,” Vidarbha and Central zone head coach Usman Ghani said as quoted by Hitavada.
Akshay Wadkar has been asked to join: Source
Meanwhile, Wadkar scored 722 runs in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season and captained Vidarbha to their third title, but was yet to be omitted from the Central Zone squad. Many had expected him to be a natural choice for the leadership role. However, with Jurel’s inclusion under the BCCI directive to give preference to Indian players, Wadkar had initially missed out. The 31-year-old has over 3,800 first-class runs at an average of nearly 49, with 11 centuries to his name. His addition strengthens an already Vidarbha-heavy Central Zone squad that includes the likes of Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Danish Malewar, and Aditya Thakare.
“There is that BCCI diktat that asks the teams to give preference to India player if he is available. So, Dhruv Jurel had been included in the squad, and that meant Wadkar, even with his good showing, had to miss the bus. But since Jurel is injured and is not fit for the second match to be played against West Zone from Thursday, Wadkar has been asked to join the squad,” a source told.
Central Zone’s confidence going into the semi-final is set to be high after their clinical performance against North East Zone in the quarter-final. Batting first, they scored 532/4 declared, thanks to a double century from Danish Malewar (203) and a 125 from skipper Rajat Patidar. Yash Rathod also chipped in with an unbeaten 87. With the ball, Harsh Dubey and Aditya Thakare spearheaded the attack as the North East Zone were bowled out for 185 in the first innings. Despite the match ending in a draw, Central Zone advanced based on their massive first-innings lead.
Central Zone’s updated squad for Duleep Trophy 2025:
Rajat Patidar (C), Akshay Wadkar, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Yash Thakur, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed. (Standbys: Madhav Kaushik, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav)
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