Nagpur: Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy winning skipper Akshay Wadkar, who was ignored for Duleep Trophy team by Central Zone selectors, finally made it to the squad. The middle-order batter-stumper will leave early Wednesday morning to join his five Vidarbha mates in the Central Zone squad in Bengaluru.
There were many questions asked by cricket pundits and sports lovers alike on his omission from the CZ team. Most had expected him to be named leader of the pack after leading Vidarbha to their third Ranji Trophy title last season. “There is that BCCI diktat which asks the teams to give preference to India player if he is available. So, Dhruv Jurel had to be 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,” informed a source privy to the development.
Gold Rate
31 dec 2025
The local media confirmed the news from Usman Ghani, Vidarbha and also the Central Zone coach. “Yes, Wadkar has been included in the 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,” said the former Ranji skipper.
In their opening match against North East, Central Zone had included all four Vidarbha players, Harsh Dubey, Danish Malewar, Yash Rathod and Aditya Thakare, in the playing eleven, a record for the three-time Ranji Trophy champions. With chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav summoned for India duty, Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur, who was in the stand-by list has also made it to the squad proper.
Now, with Wadkar joining them, Central Zone will be a Vidarbha-heavy team. Only time will tell whether the record of number of Vidarbha players plying their trade for one team in a single Duleep Trophy match will be broken once again.
