Hope floats for eight Vidarbha cricketers

 

 

 

EIGHT cricketers from Vidarbha will wait with bated breath when IPL 2026 mini-auction takes place in Abu Dhabi. Shubham Dubey (Rajasthan Royals), Yash Thakur (Punjab Kings) and Harsh Dubey (Sunrisers Hyderabad) have been retained by their respective franchises for the coming season. It would be interesting to see how Vidarbha cricketers impress the franchises on Tuesday afternoon. The IPL screening committee shortlisted 350 players from a total of 1390 players who registered for the auction.

 

The shortlisted list has 240 Indians and 110 overseas recruits. The pool comprises 224 uncapped Indian players and 14 uncapped overseas players. On auction list, India pacer Umesh Yadav will be the most experienced player from the bunch of eight Vidarbha cricketers. The 38-year-old cricketer will be in Rs 1.5 crore bracket. Opener Atharva Taide was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at his base price of Rs 30 lakh last season but got only one match as an Impact Player, scoring 13 runs against Lucknow Super Giants. This year also he has been placed in Rs 30 lakh base price. Taide has scored 180 runs at a strike rate of 142.86 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Vidarbha all-rounder 27-year-old Darshan Nalkande, with a base price of Rs 30 lakh, was with Delhi Capitals last season but didn’t get to play a single game.

 

Released by the franchise, Nalkande, who took eight wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, will be hoping that his all-round skills will appeal at the auction. Batting powerhouse Danish Malewar (22) will be entering the fray on a base price of Rs 30 lakh. Malewar caught the eye of the national selectors by amassing 783 runs, averaging 52.20 in Ranji Trophy last season and then lived up to his promise in the Duleep Trophy with scores of 203*, 76 and 53 (in final). He was also the Player of the Tournament in the inaugural edition of the Vidarbha Pro T20 League 2025. It would be interesting to see whether he attracts franchises’ attention. Parth Rekhade (26), who made his First-Class debut last season, has been a regular in both red and white ball cricket for Vidarbha The uncapped all-rounder will be entering the mini-auction on a base price of Rs 30 lakh.

 

His all-round-skills should appeal to franchises. Tall Vidarbha pacer Praful Hinge will be entering the auction on a base price of Rs 30 lakh. He has been in great form this season, having picked up 15 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. He was also impressive in the only Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy match he played against Andhra. He hits the deck hard which should impress the franchises. Another pacer Shubham Kapse (31, uncapped with base price of Rs 30 lakh) has been waiting in the wings for Vidarbha. The right-arm pacer had a good VPTL 2025 and will be hoping to get picked by one of the teams. A promising all-rounder Varun Bisht (22, uncapped with base price of Rs 30 lakh), hits the ball hard and bowls off-spin. He recently made his debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy and will also hope to get picked.