Duleep Trophy: Kanhaiya Wadhawan to lead North Zone, Ayush Badoni named vice-captain

Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) wicketkeeper-batter Kanhaiya Wadhawan is all set to lead North Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026-27, while allrounder Ayush Badoni has been named as his deputy. India fast bowler Arshdeep Singh has also been picked in the squad after last playing red-ball cricket during the previous edition of the tournament.

Six players out of the 15 members in the squad are from the reigning Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir. Apart from captain Wadhawan, opener Qamran Iqbal, middle-order batter Abdul Samad, left-arm spin allrounder Abid Mushtaq, and the fast-bowling pair of Sunil Kumar and Yudhvir Singh are also there.

Apart from them, four Delhi players are also part of the team, namely batters Ayush Doseja and Sanat Sangwan, while Yash Dhull and Badoni have secured their places for the second consecutive time.

North Zone to begin campaign on August 23

Arshdeep will spearhead the pace attack alongside Jammu & Kashmir quicks Yudhvir Singh and Sunil Kumar, as well as Haryana fast bowler Anshul Kamboj. Meanwhile, last season's leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy, Aquib Nabi, was unavailable for selection as he earned his maiden India call-up for the Test tour of Sri Lanka, replacing injured Jasprit Bumrah in the squad.

North Zone will begin their campaign against West Zone on August 23 at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

North Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2026-27: Kanhaiya Wadhawan (capt, wk), Sanat Sangwan, Qamran Iqbal, Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni (vice-capt), Nishant Sindhu, Arjun Sharma, Abid Mushtaq, Arshdeep Singh, Sunil Kumar, Anshul Kamboj, Yudhvir Singh, Nikhil Kashyap