Sudip Gharami and Shahbaz Ahmed rescued East Zone after a shaky start against North East in their Duleep Trophy quarter-final, while North Zone’s decision to leave out Sanat Sangwan despite his outstanding Ranji Trophy season raised questions over team selection.
Gharami continued his strong domestic form with a fluent 146, while Shahbaz scored an unbeaten 100. Their 150-run sixth-wicket partnership lifted East Zone from 138/5 to 355/6 by stumps.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had another disappointing outing in red-ball cricket. After starting positively with boundaries through mid-wicket and cover, he was dismissed by Manipur pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam, edging a back-of-length delivery to gully. Abhimanyu Easwaran also fell cheaply for 15.
Gharami then built a 92-run partnership with Kumar Kushagra, who scored 55 off 65 balls with nine fours. But Kushagra’s dismissal triggered another collapse, with Ishan Kishan and Virat Singh departing quickly to leave East Zone at 138/5.
Gharami and Shahbaz then took charge. Gharami’s 185-ball innings featured 25 fours and a six, bringing up his ninth first-class century. Shahbaz faced 137 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes for his unbeaten hundred. The partnership transformed East Zone’s position and put them in contention for a total of 450-plus.
North Zone selection raises questions
North Zone’s quarter-final against West Zone also attracted attention after head coach Ajay Sharma and assistant coach Sarandeep Singh left out Sanat Sangwan, who had scored 828 runs in the previous Ranji Trophy season, making him the third-highest run-scorer in the competition.
North Zone instead opened with Yash Dhull, who had scored 381 runs in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Dhull managed only nine from 26 balls before being dismissed by Shardul Thakur.
DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma said the playing XI was ultimately the coaches’ decision and declined to explain Sangwan’s omission.
The selection has drawn scrutiny because the Duleep Trophy provides an important platform for players hoping to earn India A opportunities, particularly with the Australia A series approaching. Sangwan’s omission has therefore reignited discussion about whether Duleep Trophy squads should be selected by national selectors rather than zonal coaching groups.
For Sangwan, the missed match could be significant. If North Zone lose to West Zone, the decision to leave out one of the country's most productive recent domestic batters is likely to face even stronger criticism.
A useful follow-up would be to look at the full Duleep Trophy quarter-final scorecards and standout performers from each zone.
