West Zone Add Cheteshwar Pujara & Suryakumar Yadav To Their Squad For Duleep Trophy 2023
Pujara was recently dropped from the IND Test side [Source: AP]
In a significant development, veteran Indian batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Suryakumar Yadav have been drafted into the West Zone red-ball squad ahead of the upcoming Duleep Trophy. They replace Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who have been picked in the Indian Test squad for the upcoming West Indies tour.
Talking about Pujara, the gritty batter from Saurashtra recently found himself dropped from the Indian Test squad following his abysmal performance in the World Test Championship final.
Despite being familiar with the English conditions, thanks to his County stint with Surrey, Pujara had a poor outing in the ultimate Test, managing only 41 runs across two innings. Now as he has been dropped, the veteran batter would like to showcase his mettle in the famed Duleep Trophy and earn his spot back.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav, India's Mr 360, has been a prolific performer in T20Is, garnering 1675 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 175.8. However, he has been nothing short of a disappointment in the longer formats.
While his ODI spot is under scrutiny after repeated failures, the swashbuckling right-handed batter has also lost his Test spot recently. So, the Duleep Trophy will be a golden opportunity for him to regain the trust of the selectors.
West Zone, the defending Duleep Trophy champions, have direct entry into the semi-final scheduled on July 5, where they will play the winner of Central Zone and East Zone.
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