Haryana all-rounder Jayant Yadav will lead North Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy after senior batter Mandeep Singh was ruled out of the tournament owing to an injury, convenor of zonal committee Anirudh Chaudhry confirmed on Thursday. Punjab batter Nehal Wadhera, who has recently made an impression in IPL for Mumbai Indians and was in the stand-by list, has been named in the main squad.

Chaudhry said in a press release that we received intimation this morning from the Punjab Cricket Association that Mandeep Singh had gotten injured and would be unavailable for the Duleep Trophy this morning. Pursuant thereto a video conference was organized this evening with all the North Zone Selection Committee selectors and the same was chaired by Chetan Sharma.

Selectors discussed the issue and unanimously decided that Wadhera would be the replacement for Mandeep Singh, the release further stated. In the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, Nehal accumulated 376 runs in the five matches he played and also hit two hundred, including a best of 214. He continued the good run in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians where the left-hander played some useful hands.

Since Mandeep was the captain of the side, the Committee also picked off-spinner Yadav to lead the North Zone team in the Duleep Trophy, Chaudhry added. The Yadav-led side has a formidable look and all bases are covered with the right blend of experience and youth. North Zone will meet North East Zone in the quarter-final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from June 28 to July 1.