Sanjeet Desai, Ayush Pandey to represent Central Zone in Duleep Trophy, marking new milestone for Chhattisgarh cricket
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Five teams will compete in the tournament: Central Zone, North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, and West Zone. Sanjeet Desai, a right-handed middle-order batter, and Ayush Pandey, a left-handed opening batsman, are part of the 15-member Central Zone squad. The team will be led by wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel, who recently played for India in the five-match Test series against England.
The Chhattisgarh cricketers will play alongside experienced players like Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, and Deepak Chahar who have experience of playing for India in the ICC tournaments.
Both batters had a strong 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, which was a key factor in their selection. Sanjeet Desai was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the league stage, with 693 runs from 11 innings in seven matches at an average of 77. Ayush Pandey scored 743 runs from 12 innings in seven matches in the same season.
Previously, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Amandeep Khare, Pankaj Rao, and Ashutosh Singh from the state have played in the tournament.
Pankaj represented India Blue in 2017, followed by Ashutosh for India Red in 2018, Harpreet for India Red in 2018 and India Green in 2019, and Amandeep for Central Zone in 2023.
The North Zone team will be led by India Test team captain Shubman Gill. Shardul Thakur will captain West Zone, with Yashasvi Jaiswal as his deputy. Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone, and Tilak Varma will be the captain of the South Zone team.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) hosted its annual award ceremony in Raipur, honouring outstanding performances in state and district-level tournaments during the 2024–25 season.
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Ayush Pandey was named CSCS Player of the Year for amassing 1,165 runs in the season, including seven half-centuries and two centuries.
Players were felicitated across various age categories, from under-14 to senior levels, with awards based on their performances in official CSCS tournaments.
The event recognised cricketers who excelled in batting, bowling, all-round performance, and wicketkeeping, as well as emerging talent and special contributions to the sport in Chhattisgarh. BCCI treasurer Prabhtej Singh Bhatia was present on the occasion.
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