Rajasthan Royals posted a congratulatory message to their wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel after being named the skipper of the Central Zone team for the Duleep Trophy. The Royals posted a picture of Jurel with the caption," Ek hoga jo stumps ke peeche se game badal dega"
The gesture comes less than 12 hours after an ESPNCricinfo report claimed that their current IPL captain, Sanju Samson, also a wicketkeeper, had asked to be released ahead of the 2026 auction.
Jurel impresses during the England tour
Jurel was handed the captaincy for Central Zone following his impressive glove work during the England series. The 23-year-old keeper-batter displayed good temperament during India’s 2-2 draw in the Test series. He has been handed the chance by selectors to lead a team which is packed with domestic heavyweights and players who are national contenders.
Central Zone squad for Duleep trophy
Jurel will have plenty of talent at his disposal when he leads Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy. Kuldeep Yadav, who did not get a single game during the five-Test series in England, will form a spin trio alongside Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey and Rajasthan’s Manav Suthar. Dubey had a record-breaking Ranji season last year with 69 wickets, the most in a single edition of the tournament.
Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, who recently featured in the county stint for Essex will form a partnership with Deepak Chahar, who has recovered from his IPL injury. In the batting department, Vidarbha’s Yash Rathod, who top scorer in the previous Ranji season with 960 runs, will look to carry the form and impress the selectors. His teammate Danish Malewar, who played a match-winning role in the Ranji final, has also been rewarded.
The side will be coached by Usman Ghani, who oversaw Vidarbha’s successful campaign last season.
Squad: Dhruv Jurel (c, wk), Rajat Patidar (vc - subject to fitness clearance), Aryan Juyal, Danesh Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakre, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pande,y Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed
Standbys: Madhav Kaushik Yash Thakur Yuvraj Chaudhary Mahipal Lomror Kuldeep Sen Upendra Yadav
