After being dropped from the Indian Test squad for the two-match West Indies series, Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara will turn his attention to domestic cricket. He has been added to West Zone’s squad for the 2023 Duleep Trophy. Pujara is set to be joined by another big name in the form of Mumbai batter Suryakumar Yadav.
These India internationals will replace Yashaswi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who earned their maiden call-ups in the Test squad for the West Indies series. The West Zone squad is being led by Priyank Panchal and includes several prominent names like Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan and Chetan Sakariya.
According to some sources, Cheteshwar Pujara was replaced by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal because head coach Rahul Dravid wanted to give young players a chance in the Test team. The 102-test veteran can yet make a comeback if he scores runs on the home circuit, despite the transition that is taking place.
Cheteshwar Pujara whose most recent Test was the World Test Championship Final, faced a lot of criticism as he failed to get going in both the innings of the tough game. He scored 14(25) and 27(47) in both innings as India lost out on another ICC trophy by a hefty margin of 209 runs. Pujara was a part of the Sussex squad in the County Championships earlier, where he amassed runs on a consistent clip.
West Zone squad:
Priyank Panchal (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harvik Desai (wicketkeeper), Prithvi Shaw, Het Patel (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Arpit Vasavada, Atit Seth, Shams Mulani, Yuvraj Dodiya, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya, Chintan Gaja, Arzan Nagwaswalla
West Zone will begin their Duleep Trophy quest by facing either Central Zone or East Zone at the Alur Stadium from July 5.
The following is the schedule for the 2023 edition of the Duleep Trophy:
Note:- All matches will begin at 9:30 AM IST.