Three Vidarbha cricketers — Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur and Aman Mokhade — have been selected in the India ‘A’ squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
The 14-member squad for two four-day matches against Sri Lanka A was announced on Saturday by the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar. The matches will be played in Galle from June 25 to July 5.
Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will lead the side, while Devdutt Padikkal has been named vice-captain for the red-ball assignment.
According to sources in the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), this is perhaps the first time that three Vidarbha players have been selected together in an India ‘A’ squad. A VCA official welcomed the development, saying it was encouraging to see local players getting opportunities at the national level.
Spinner-all-rounder Dubey earned recognition after impressive performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recently concluded IPL. His strong showing helped him secure a place in the Indian squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan that began on Saturday. Although he was not included in the playing XI, selectors are believed to be closely monitoring his progress.
Medium pacer Thakur has also been rewarded for his consistent performances over the past few domestic seasons. While both Dubey and Thakur have previously been part of India ‘A’ setups, the Sri Lanka tour marks the first India ‘A’ call-up for opener Mokhade.
Mokhade was one of the standout performers in domestic cricket last season, enjoying a prolific run in both the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. He played a pivotal role in Vidarbha’s maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph, finishing as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 814 runs at an outstanding average of 90.44. The right-handed opener also equalled the tournament record by scoring five centuries during the campaign.
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