Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad replaced by India veterans to West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who got a national team call-up for the upcoming Test series against West Indies, have been replaced by the zonal selectors.

Jaiswal, who had a stellar IPL and domestic season, was included in the Test setup for the first time. He went to England as a stand for the WTC Final recently. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was originally supposed to be a part of India standbys in the WTC squad, withdrew due to personal reasons. But he has found his place in the West Indies-bound flight for the red-ball series.

The duo were also included in the West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy, but now have been replaced by two India veterans. Cheteshwar Pujara and Suryakumar Yadav have been drafted into the West Zone squad for the tournament.

Priyank Panchal will lead the West Zone squad in Bengaluru which also has the likes of Prithvi Shaw, and Sarfaraz Khan in the team.

There was much debate regarding Pujara’s exclusion from the Indian Test squad. The 35-year-old failed miserably in the WTC Final, scoring 14 and 27 runs in both innings. He had an outstanding time with Sussex in County Championship Division 2 but failed to replicate that in India colours.

Suryakumar Yadav made his Test debut in the Border Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. He is part of the Indian ODI squad against West Indies and looks set to be a part of the T20I roster as well.

West Zone are the defending champions of the Duleep Trophy which grants them entry from the semi-final stage. They will be up against the winner of the match between Central Zone and Eastern Zone. The match will start on July 5 at the Alur Cricket Stadium in Bangalore.

West Zone Duleep Trophy 2023 Squad

Priyank Panchal (C), Prithvi Shaw, Het Patel (wk), Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav, Harvik Desai (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Arpit Vasavada, Atit Seth, Shams Mulani, Yuvraj Dodiya, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya, Chintan Gaja, Arzan Nagwaswalla