Dubey, Mahale, Choudhari, Bingewar added to Vidarbha squad

NAGPUR: Left-arm pacer Saurabh Dubey, allrounder Mandar Mahale, opener Aniruddha Choudhari and pacer Suniket Bingewar have been added to the

Vidarbha squad

for the forthcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament in Indore.

With new protocols, the BCCI had instructed the state associations to pick 22-member squad as even nets bowlers and replacements can't be called from outside. According to sources, these four players also went with the team to Indore. The Suhas Phadkar-led selection panel continued to back the youngsters for the shorter formats. Allrounder Shrikant Wagh, who has been an integral part of

Vidarbha

in One-dayers and Twenty20, didn't make the cut.

While Choudhari and Bingewar were part of the senior squad before, it will be a maiden stint with the senior team for Dubey and Mahale. Dubey was part of the Mumbai Indians in the

IPL-13

in Dubai. He had travelled with IPL-13 champions as a nets bowler. Dubey had played a key role in Vidarbha's campaign in Col CK Nayudu Under-23 Trophy in 2018-19, capturing 35 wickets in 9 matches as Vidarbha reached the semifinal stage.

In November 2019, Dubey became the first from Vidarbha to be picked for India Under-23 when got selected in the One-day bi-lateral series against Bangladesh. A fortnight later, he was selected in the India team for the Emerging Teams Asia Cup. The speedster also attended the

National Cricket Academy

camp earlier last summer. Last year, Dubey was part of the Vidarbha team that won their maiden Col CK Nayudu U-23 Trophy in Indore.

Mahal, on the other hand, has been one of bright talents in the region. In his short career, Mahale has already been part of the Vidarbha squads that won Vijay Merchant Under-16 Trophy in 2016-17 and Vinoo Mankad Under-19 One-day Trophy in 2018-19. He was also a part of the Vidarbha squad that played Cooch Behar Under-19 final twice in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He is a natural stroke-payer and more than handy spinner. His allround performance was one of the reasons for Vidarbha U-19's success last season.

With Bingewar, Vidarbha pace attack now has more depth and teeth. The right-arm seamer has one of the consistent performers in the local cricketing circuit. Choudhari, 21, was picked after his consistent performance with the Under-23 team. He has six hundred for Vidarbha Under-23. He was included in the Vidarbha Ranji Trophy squad last season but unfortunately couldn't do much. However, it's still early days for this talented right-hander, who can also bowl off spin.

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