Delhi has announced a 24-member squad an unusually large contingent for their Ranji Trophy opener against Hyderabad, starting October 15. Ayush Badoni will captain the side, with Yash Dhull named vice-captain. The selection was finalised by the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Thursday.
In a notable development, Nitish Rana makes a return to the Delhi setup after a brief switch to Uttar Pradesh. The senior batter has been drafted straight into the red-ball squad.
The decision to name a squad of 24 has raised eyebrows, especially with the BCCI’s anti-corruption guidelines allowing only 15 players inside the dressing room. When questioned, a senior DDCA official clarified that the remaining nine players will be accommodated in the team hotel for the four-day match and won’t have access to the dressing room during play.
In conversation with PTI, “He is an experienced player and the selectors wanted to check him out. In any case, he will play the white-ball leg. In fact, in the next game, we are expecting Rishabh Pant to play.” Ashok Sharma, DDCA secretary on Rana’s return and Rishabh Pant’s absence
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Interestingly, none of the coaches or selectors have been formally offered contracts, adding to the administrative uncertainty. The official press release also omitted the name of the selection committee chairman.
The selection meeting saw the presence of selectors Yashpal Singh, K Bhaskar Pillai, and Manu Nayar, along with chief coach Sarandeep Singh, CAC member Surinder Khanna, and DDCA officials Ashok Sharma (Secretary) and Amit Grover (Joint Secretary).
Delhi squad: Ayush Badoni (captain), Yash Dhull (vice-captain), Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Anuj Rawat (wk), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Rounak Waghela, Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Money Grewal, Siddhant Sharma, Ayush Doseja, Rahul Dagar, Hrithik Shokeen, Priyansh Arya, Tejasvi (wk), Vaibhav Kandpal, Rohan Rana, Aryan Rana (subject to fitness), Dhruv Kaushik, Pranav Rajvanshi (wk), Nitish Rana, Himmat Singh.
