Gharami and Shahbaz rally East Zone as North Zone coaches face questions over Sangwan omission
Sudip Gharami and Shahbaz Ahmed revived East Zone from 138/5 to finish the opening day of their Duleep Trophy quarter-final against North East at 355/6, while North Zone head coach Ajay Sharma and assistant coach Sarandeep Singh were criticised for leaving out Sanat Sangwan ahead of North Zone’s quarter-final against West Zone in Bengaluru.
East Zone’s recovery hinged on a 150-run sixth-wicket stand between Gharami and Shahbaz after an early collapse, with Gharami continuing his strong form from last season and Shahbaz remaining unbeaten on 100; the pair’s partnership shifted the innings’ momentum. Gharami had finished fourth among leading run-scorers in last season’s Ranji Trophy with 795 runs, and Shahbaz is described in the report as a former India all-rounder.
The innings began poorly for East Zone when Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, still developing his red-ball game, was caught at gully off Manipur pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam after an attempted slash following early boundaries through mid-wicket and a cover drive. Abhimanyu Easwaran was trapped in front by medium-pacer Jotin Singh for 15, then Kumar Kushagra and Gharami added 92 for the third wicket as Kushagra struck nine boundaries in his 65-ball 55.
Kushagra’s dismissal precipitated another collapse, with Ishan Kishan and Virat Singh falling in quick succession to leave East Zone at 138/5 before Gharami and Shahbaz took control. Gharami scored 146 in a 185-ball innings that included 25 fours and a six and marked his ninth first-class century, while Shahbaz faced 137 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes on his way to an unbeaten 100.
After the Gharami–Shahbaz stand, Shahbaz and Anukul Roy added a further 67 runs before Gharami was dismissed; East Zone at one point were reported as eyeing a total of 450 or more. The day’s recovery restored East Zone’s position after an initial string of low scores and quick wickets.
North Zone’s selection for their quarter-final in Bengaluru attracted scrutiny because they omitted Sanat Sangwan, who scored 828 runs in the previous Ranji Trophy season and finished behind only Ravichandran Smaran (950) and Ayush Doseja (949). Instead, North Zone picked former India Under-19 captain Yash Dhull, who had 381 runs in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy; Dhull’s innings lasted 26 balls and he was dismissed for nine against the Mumbai duo of Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur, with Prithvi Shaw taking the catch.
DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma defended the coaches’ authority, saying: "In zonal matches, it is the coaches who decide the playing eleven. Ajay (head coach) and Sarandeep (assistant coach) are the two coaches. I can't sit here and say why they didn't pick Sanat and played Yash," he told PTI. A senior DDCA official suggested Dhull’s recent performances in the Delhi Premier League could have influenced the decision, and the report notes that the DPL is a T20 competition.
The omission has raised debate because the Duleep Trophy is cited as an important platform for players to press their case for the India A squad for the upcoming home series against Australia A, and the report warns that "If North Zone go on to lose against West Zone, the decision to leave out one of India's most prolific domestic batters will face even greater scrutiny."