Rajat Patidar’s impressive run in domestic and franchise cricket has earned him another major leadership role. Despite being out of the national setup, the right-hander has continued to deliver consistent performances and enjoyed tremendous success as captain, leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to back-to-back IPL titles in 2025 and 2026. He has now been appointed captain of Central Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
Central Zone announced its squad for the prestigious domestic tournament, with Rajat Patidar named captain and Rinku Singh appointed vice-captain. The squad also features several notable names, including Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, Aryan Juyal and Arshad Khan.
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Also included is Saransh Jain, Patidar’s Madhya Pradesh teammate, who recently earned his maiden India call-up for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Vidarbha opener Aman Mokhade has also been rewarded for an outstanding 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaign, during which he amassed 760 runs in 11 innings at an average of 76. Another promising batter, Ayush Pandey of Chhattisgarh, has been selected after recently representing India A on the tour of Sri Lanka.
Central Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2026
Rajat Patidar (captain), Rinku Singh (vice-captain), Aryan Juyal (wk), Kunal Singh (wk), Saransh Jain, Kunal Chandela, Aman Mokhade, Zeeshan Ansari, Arshad Khan, Aryan Pandey, Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Nachiket Bhute and Yash Thakur.
The 63rd edition of the Duleep Trophy will be held from August 23 to September 10. Six teams – Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, North East, South West and West Zone – will compete for the title in the premier domestic first-class tournament.
Rajat Patidar’s Stellar Form in IPL 2026
Leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Rajat Patidar enjoyed a spectacular IPL 2026 campaign.
Functioning as a high-impact middle-order batter, he accumulated 501 runs. Patidar excelled in middle and death overs, highlighted by a game-changing, unbeaten 93 off 33 balls in Qualifier 1 to guide RCB to back-to-back finals.
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