Nitish Rana to lead North Zone in 2023 Deodhar Trophy, Yash Dhull left out

Kolkata Knight Riders' interim captain in IPL 2023, Nitish Rana, will lead North Zone in the 2023 Deodhar Trophy, PTI reported on Monday, July 10. The left-hander will have the reigns of a strong but young team, which also includes the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Harshit Rana, and Mayank Markande.

Abhishek, Prabhsimran, Harshit, and Nishant Sindhu are currently a part of India's squad for the emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. The tournament will begin on July 13 with the final on July 23. If India plays the final, they will likely not feature in North Zone's opening match on July 24 against South Zone.

Interestingly, youngster Yash Dhull, who is leading India in the Emerging Asia Cup and plays for Delhi in the domestic circuit, has been left out of North Zone's Deodhar Trophy squad.

Nitish Rananhad an excellent season for the Knight Riders, scoring 413 runs at an average of 31.77. Although he has captained Delhi before, he'll have experienced names like Rishi Dhawan and Mandeep Singh to help him out.

The Deodhar Trophy is returning after a gap of four years. It was halted indefinitely in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, it will be played in Puducherry from July 24 to August 3.

Six teams: North Zone, Central Zone, East Zone, North East Zone, South Zone and West Zone will compete in a round-robin format.

The top two teams will compete in the final on August 3.

---

North Zone's full Deodhar Trophy squad

Nitish Rana (capt), Abhishek Sharma*, S Rohilla, Shubham Khajuria, Mandeep Singh, Himanshu Rana, Vivrant Sharma, Prabhsimran*, Nishant Sindhu, Harshit Rana, Rishi Dhawan, Yudhvir Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Harshit Rana*, and Mayank Markande.

Stand-bye players: Mayank Dagar, Mayank Yadav, Arslan Khan, Shubham Arora, Yuvraj Singh, Manan Vohra, Aqib Nabi, and Shivank Vashisht.