Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018: Mandeep Singh to Lead Punjab Team

Promising batter Mandeep Singh will lead the Punjab team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018 and experienced campaigner Yuvraj Singh’s name has also been included in the squad.

However, the right-handed batsman will be assisted by all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann in the job. Mandeep has replaced Harbhajan Singh as Punjab’s captain.

Harbjahan has not been named in the Punjab side. Moreover, Mandeep’s appointment as a skipper of Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy has surprised one and all. Yuvraj Singh used to lead Punjab in the absence of Harbhajan, but in this season, selectors gave Mandeep the job to lead the team.

Moreover, Manan Vohra, Gitansh Khera, and Anmolpreet Singh have been included in the team.

The 16-member squad for Vijay Hazare Trophy also includes former India Under-19 cricketer Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and Arshdeep Singh. The trio was a part of India U-19 team that won the junior World Cup in New Zealand.

Gill has already played for India A whereas Arshdeep is yet to make his debut in senior cricket. Abhishek made his debut for Punjab last season. He also played three Indian Premier League (IPL) games for Delhi Daredevils (DD).

Furthermore, Siddarth Kaul is currently there in UAE and will play a vital role in the team’s pace attack. Manpreet Singh Goni and Barinder Sran will assist him. However, Sandeep Sharma has not been included in the Punjab side for Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The tournament will be a vital one for Yuvraj and Mandeep to come up with splendid performances. This might help them to present a case for selection in the national squad.

However, Punjab will face Himachal Pradesh (September 19), Vidarbha (September 21), Maharashtra (September 23), Baroda (September 24), Mumbai (September 28), Railways (October 2), Goa (October 4) and Karnataka (October 8) in the league stage of the List A tournament.

Here’s the squad of Punjab for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018:

Squad: Shubman Gill, Manan Vohra, Anmolpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh (captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann (vice-captain), Yuvraj Singh, Sharad Lumba, Gitansh Khera (wicket-keeper),Sanvir Singh, Arpit Pannu, Mayank Markande, Abhishek Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Manpreet Singh Grewal, Barinder Singh Sran and Arshdeep Singh.