Vidarbha name unchanged squad for Ranji Trophy final

The Vidarbha Ranji Trophy team, on Monday, retained their 17-member squad for the final against Kerala.

The Ranji Trophy title match will be played at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, from Wednesday.

"VCA's senior selection committee, which met on Monday, decided to retain the same squad that did duty in the semi-final against Mumbai. Akshay Wadkar will lead the side," the Vidarbha Cricket Association said on Monday.

Vidarbha, who have remained unbeaten in the premier domestic competition this season, qualified for the summit clash after a commanding 80-run win over defending champions Mumbai.

It was a repeat of last year's final in which Mumbai had clinched their 42nd title after defeating the two-time winners Vidarbha.

Kerala, on the other hand, will make their maiden appearance in the Ranji Trophy final.

After pipping Jammu and Kashmir in the quarterfinal on the basis of first-innings lead of a mere one run, Kerala edged out Gujarat in the semifinal with a slender two-run lead.

Vidarbha, who will make their fourth appearance in the Ranji final after winning the title in 2017-18 and 2018-19, will bank on their stars such as Yash Rathod (933 runs) and Harsh Dubey (66 wickets) to come good again.

The left-handed Rathod is the third highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy this year with 933 runs in nine matches with five centuries and three fifties, averaging 58.31.

The 24-year-old Rathod scored 54 and 151 against Mumbai in the semifinal.

Vidarbha's left-arm spinner Dubey has clearly been the most successful bowler with 66 wickets in nine matches at 16.42, sending down as many as 70 maidens and snaffling seven five-wicket hauls in the process.

Squad: Akshay Wadkar (c&wk), Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Akshay Karnewar, Yash Kadam, Akshay Wakhare, Aditya Thakare, Darshan Nalkande, Nachiket Bhute, Siddhesh Wath (wk), Yash Thakur, Danish Malewar, Parth Rekhade, Karun Nair, Dhruv Shorey.