JAIPUR: In a surprising move, Deepak Hooda and Deepak Chahar have been removed as Rajasthan captain and vice-captain respectively for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Mahipal Lomror, who scored a triple hundred in the last match of the first leg of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, has replaced Hooda while promising left-arm spinner Manav Suthar will be his deputy.
The 15-member squad for the domestic T20s was announced on Tuesday night by the senior selection committee appointed by Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) ad hoc panel. Officials say that they wanted to promote ‘players from Rajasthan’ and that led to a change in leadership.
Twenty nine-year-old Hooda, who previously represented Baroda, switched to Rajasthan as a professional in the 2021-22 season. While Chahar, who has been representing the state since the start of his career, is often looked at as an outsider for he comes from Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
"We wanted to promote players from Rajasthan and also the ones who are doing well. Lomror and Suthar tick all the boxes. Also, we felt that Hooda was burdened by the weight of captaincy and that is why he could not give his best as a batsman," the ad hoc panel member Dharmveer Singh Shekhawat told the publication.
Lomror, 24, has previously led Rajasthan in the 2018-2019 Ranji season when they made it to the quarterfinals.
Some RCA insiders believe that removing Hooda and Chahar is directly linked to the alleged rift between the senior players and the management that was there for everyone to see before Rajasthan's Ranji match against Hyderabad at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
"Clearly Hooda and other senior players’ disagreement with the ad hoc panel members on having certain players in the side during the first leg of Ranji matches has triggered this. Probably some egos were hurt and hence the action," said a source privy to the development.
Meanwhile, Shubham Garhwal is not fully fit and has not been included in the top 15. The all-rounder is in the standby list and will be considered after the first two matches if he ‘completely recovers’.
The tournament will be held from November 23 to December 15. Rajasthan, who are placed in Group A, will open their campaign against Bihar in Rajkot.
Squad: Mahipal Lomror (c), Manav Suthar (v-c ), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Chahar, Kartik Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Aniket Choudhary, Ram Mohan Chauhan, Abhijeet Tomar, Bharat Sharma (wicketkeeper), Zuber Ali, Kamplesh Nagarkoti, Aditya Singh Rathore, Rajesh Bishnoi (junior) and Sumit Godara.
Standby players: Aman Singh Rajawat, Arafat Khan, Rajat Choudhary, Shubham Garhwal and Mohit Jain.
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