Duleep Trophy 2026 started on Sunday with two key games. The contest between North Zone and West Zone is evenly poised, with bowlers having their say. The 25-year-old Sanat Sangwan, who is part of the North Zone, wasn’t picked in the playing XI, leading to controversy.
Ashok Sharma, who is the secretary for Delhi and Districts Cricket Association, broke his silence on the issue. Speaking to PTI, Sharma said, “In zonal games, coaches pick the playing XI. Ajay and Sarandeep are the two coaches in this case. So one cannot sit and comment why Sanat was benched while Yash Dhull was picked.”
Yash Dhullwho helped India win the Under-19 World Cup in 2022, has seen his cricketing graph fall drastically. The young batter managed to score just nine runs on Sunday while opening the batting with Qamran Iqbal. He was dismissed by Shardul Thakur on the first ball of the ninth over, with Prithvi Shaw taking the catch.
Another DDCA official told PTI that the 25-year-old southpaw didn’t enjoy much traction with his own state association, which is why he wasn’t picked. “It was difficult to play Dhull in the middle-order, since there are players like Ayush Doseja, Badoni and Abdul Samad. Hence, Sangwan was made the scapegoat, who doesn’t have much backing within DDCA.”
Ignored despite stellar numbers
Sanat Sangwan is a 25-year-old left-handed batter for Delhi who was the third-highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy last season. The batter played seven games, scoring 828 runs with a best of 211 not out. He ended the season at an average of 69 and hit 3 tons and 3 fifties. Delhi batter has played 14 first-class games and scored 1213 runs at an average of 55, with three tons and five fifties.
Dhull, who has also played for Delhi Capitalsmanaged 381 runs in the last Ranji Trophy campaign. The batter posted 189 against Rajasthan and 70 against Assam.
Ayush Doseja accumulated 949 runs and was one of the best batters last season. LSG star Ayush Badoni scored just 294 runs last season with four fifties. Sangwan scored 281 runs from seven games in the Delhi Premier League 2026 at a strike rate of 183, including a blistering century.