Duleep Trophy 2026: Rajat Patidar Retained As Central Zone Captain, Rinku Singh Named Vice-Captain

New Delhi, August 1, 2026: India batter Rajat Patidar has been retained as the captain of the Central Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which starts on August 23 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. With Patidar again leading the defending champions, left-handed batter Rinku Singh has been appointed vice-captain.

Strong Squad Named

Defending champions Central Zone, who secured their seventh title after defeating South Zone by six wickets in the previous edition's final in Bengaluru, have announced a strong 15-member squad aimed at retaining the crown.

In the batting line-up, Patidar, the leading run-scorer in last year's Duleep Trophy and a two-time IPL-winning captain, will have the likes of Rinku, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Ayush Pandey, Aryan Juyal and Yash Rathod, the Player of the Match in last year's final with a majestic 194, to outclass opposition bowlers.

Balanced Bowling Attack

The bowling unit boasts a blend of pace and spin, led by seamers Yash Thakur, Arshad Khan, Aryan Pandey and Nachiket Bhute. The spin department will be spearheaded by off-spinner Saransh Jain, who was the leading wicket-taker in last year's competition with 16 scalps, and left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey, along with leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari.

IANS understands that Jain, who is in India's squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, has been retained in the line-up with the expectation that he could be available for Central Zone's semi-final from August 30 to September 2 against the winner of Quarter-final 1.

Stand-By Players And Support Staff

The Central Zone selection committee has also named a six-member stand-by list featuring Amandeep Khare, Mayank Mishra, Saurabh Rawat, Bhargav Merai, Kunal Yadav and Kumar Kartikeya to cover for any potential injuries to main squad members during the tournament.

Former Rajasthan player Nikhil Doru has been named head coach, with Manish Jha appointed assistant coach. Zuffri Zakeria has been appointed team manager, while Chandrashekhar Rao will serve as video analyst. The medical and physical conditioning team comprises physiotherapist Deshraj Chouhan, trainer Mayank Agarwal and masseur Mohit Kumar.

Central Zone Squad

Rajat Patidar (captain), Rinku Singh (vice-captain), Aryan Juyal (wicketkeeper), Saransh Jain, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Zeeshan Ansari, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Kunal Singh Rathod (wicketkeeper), Yash Thakur and Nachiket Bhute.

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Stand-By Players

Amandeep Khare, Mayank Mishra, Saurabh Rawat, Bhargav Merai, Kunal Yadav and Kumar Kartikeya.

(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)