VIDARBHA all-rounder Harsh Dubey will walk into the field with an added responsibility on his shoulders when he leads the side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium B in Lucknow starting Wednesday. Vidarbha, who made a quarter-final exit last season, will take on Chhattisgarh in their opener in a morning match. Already a regular in the India A set-up, left-arm spinner Dubey will be looking to show his all-round abilities with both bat and ball to impress India selectors.

 

The tournament will also serve as an audition for IPL auction scheduled for December 16 and all the players would aim to put up noticeable performances. Dubey and Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur, who is the vice-captain of the side, were part of India A squad during the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha. Dubey has shown his batting skills hitting an unbeaten half century in the quarters and was instrumental in taking the semis match against Bangladesh into the Super Over. He would love to carry that momentum and bring some inputs from that tour in this 17-member Vidarbha squad.

 

The team looks a formidable one with most of the top order batters scoring big runs in the Ranji Trophy matches. Aman Mokhade, Dhruv Shorey, Yash Rathod have all scored at least a century in the red-ball domestic tournament and all are high on confidence going into the opener. The pace department is bolstered with the inclusion of India fast bowler Umesh Yadav who has recovered from a knee injury. He will have support of Thakur apart from Deepesh Parwani, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande and Praful Hinge. Captain Dubey will have Parth Rekhade for his support. The Chhattisgarh side will be led by Amandeep Khare. The team also has former Vidarbha spinner Aditya Sarvate who has joined the team this season as a professional. Vidarbha are placed in Group A along with Chhattisgarh, Andhra, Assam, Kerala, Mumbai, Odisha and Railways.