Central Zone captain Dhruv Jurel and East Zone skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran were absent as the Duleep Trophy quarter-finals got underway in Bengaluru on Thursday, dealing a blow to their respective sides.
The North Zone also entered the match with a leadership change. Original skipper Shubman Gill was sidelined after failing to recover from a fever in time. Vice-captain Ankit Kumar stepped up to lead the team, while Shubham Goel was added as Gill’s replacement.
The Central Zone faced a similar challenge when Jurel missed the clash against the NorthEast Zone due to a groin niggle that flared up on the eve of the match. Although the Test specialist was present for pre-match proceedings, team management advised him to sit out to avoid further aggravating the injury. In his absence, Rajat Patidar, who captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their IPL title earlier this year and was Central Zone’s vice-captain, took over the leadership role in the high-stakes knockout game.
East Zone faced an even bigger crisis. Abhimanyu Easwaran fell ill with a fever on the morning of their quarter-final against North Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. His absence left a void in the top order, compounded by the unavailability of pacer Akash Deep and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan. Assam all-rounder Riyan Parag was handed the captaincy, stepping into the leadership void to guide a weakened side in a tough encounter.
North Zone, however, asked to bat by East Zone, have scored 207 for the loss of four wickets. Manishi has been the most impressive performer with the ball, scalping three wickets at the cost of 60 runs in his nine overs. Former India pacer Mohammed Shami, although he has shown his skill, giving away only 29 runs in 12 overs, has been wicketless so far. Current India bowler Mukesh Kumar also has not been able to pick up a wicket so far.
