Veteran India opener Gautam Gambhir has been appointed Delhi's captain for first three matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018-19. Young batsman Dhruv Shorey will act as Gambhir’s deputy in the squad comprised of Rishabh Pant, Unmukt Chand and Navdeep Saini.
Lanky speedster Ishant Sharma, who captained Delhi in the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare Trophy, has not been named in the squad after a grueling five-match Test series in England. Delhi will face Saurashtra in their first game of the tournament on September 20 at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
As per a PTI report, Pant didn’t take up the leadership role as he is a certainty in the Indian Test squad for the home series against West Indies, starting from October 4. Given that Shorey will also travel to New Zealand with the India A team, the selection committee chaired by Amit Bhandari opted for the seasoned campaigner, Gambhir to lead the team.
The only new face in the 15-member squad is rookie all-rounder Pranshu Vajayran. Experienced players like Nitish Rana, Manan Sharma, and Pawan Negi have been named in the squad. The Under-22 fast bowlers Simarjeet Singh and Gaurav Kumar were also picked in the squad.
DDCA TEAM FOR VIJAY HAZARE TROPHY-2018 pic.twitter.com/pucEqwQ620
— DDCA (@delhi_cricket) September 15, 2018
Delhi’s Itinerary (All matches at Kotla and Palam)
Sep 20: vs Saurashtra
Sep 21: vs Hyderabad
Sep 24: vs Uttar Pradesh
Sep 26: vs Odisha
Sep 28: vs Kerala
Oct 2: vs Andhra
Oct 4: vs Madha Pradesh
Oct 8: vs Chattisgarh
(With PTI inputs)