Vijay Hazare Trophy: Krunal Pandya to lead Baroda

The Baroda Cricket Association has named a 22-member squad for the tournament, with Kedar Devdhar named Krunal Pandya’s deputy.

After featuring in a few matches in the just concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Pandya had to leave the bio-bubble due to the demise of his father.

Krunal Pandya will lead Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which begins from February 20.

The Baroda Cricket Association, on Saturday, named a 22-member squad for the tournament, with Kedar Devdhar named Pandya’s deputy. The team, which is placed in Elite A, will play its matches in Surat.

Last month, Baroda reached the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before going down to Tamil Nadu in the final.

 

After featuring in the first few matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Pandya had to leave the bio-bubble due to the demise of his father and in his absence, Devdhar led Baroda to the final of the tournament.

Ahead of the T20 tournament, the Baroda team found itself in middle of a controversy as its vice-captain Deepak Hooda left the bio-bubble on the eve of its first game after alleged spat with Pandya. The association, however, suspended Hooda for a year on disciplinary grounds.

The squad: Krunal Pandya (captain), Kedar Devdhar, Pratyush Kumar, Vishnu Solanki, Abhimanyu Rajput, Smith Patel (wicketkeeper), Ninad Rathva, Atit Sheth, Kartik Kakade, Lukeman Meriwala, Baba Safi Pathan, Dhruv Patel, Bhargav Bhatt, Bhanu Pania, Chintal Gandhi, Parth Kohli, Jyotsnil Singh, Mitesh Patel (wicketkeeper), Soeb Sopariya, Shivalik Sharma, Pradeep Yadav, Pratik Ghodadra.