NAGPUR: It is a new season and a new beginning for Vidarbha, with a new skipper in their ranks. Wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar has been named captain for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Tournament on Thursday.
The middle-order bat Wadkar has a good experienced side to lead with a blend of promising youngsters, who will add variety the team needs in the shortest format.
Another wicketkeeper in the team - Siddesh Wath - will be his deputy. Attacking batsmen Jitesh Sharma is the third wicketkeeper in the squad. The team was relegated to the Plate Group last year and will play the matches in Vijaywada from November 4 to 9.
The association took the performances of the VCA T20 tournament, that concluded on Thursday, into consideration. The selectors rewarded middle-order bat Shubham Dubey, off-spinner Ganesh Bhosale, and the trio of allrounders - Parth Rekhade, Harsh Dubey - both bowl left-arm spin - and Sooraj Rai, who will be the only left-arm pacer, for their consistency. All of them will be entering the senior team for the first time.
Indian pacer Umesh Yadav has also been included to strengthen the attack. He had made himself available a few days before the IPL concluded.
The Team: Akshay Wadkar (captain), Siddesh Wath (vice-captain), Atharva Taide, R.Sanjay, Ganesh Satish, Yash Rathod, Jitesh Sharma, Apoorva Wankhade, Shubham Dubey, Akshay Karnewar, Akshay Wakhare, Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade, Ganesh Bhosale, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Thakur, Siddesh Neral, Aditya Thakre, Sooraj Rai, Umesh Yadav
