Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 12: Prolific run maker at the domestic circuit, Paras Dogra will be turning out for Jammu and Kashmir in the upcoming domestic cricket season, after the veteran batter has been named as the side’s captain for the prestigious Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament beginning from August 15 to September 11 in Tamil Nadu. The 15-member J&K squad left for the venue in the morning today.
Since his debut in 2001, Dogra, 39, has been a heavy run-getter in domestic cricket, amassing 9604 runs in 135 first-class matches and has an average of 49.76, including 31 centuries and 33 half-centuries.
Dogra, who was a member of the India ‘A’ team playing unofficial Tests against West Indies ‘A’ side in 2013, represented his home state Himachal Pradesh from 2001 to 2017, before turning out for Pondicherry from 2018/19 to 2023/24 seasons.
Now, he will be captaining a 15-member J&K team in the Buchi Babu tournament, where they are placed alongside Chhattisgarh and Baroda in Group D of the competition. J&K will play its first game against Chhattisgarh at Natham from August 15-18, followed by facing Baroda at the same venue from August 21-24.
Other notable names in the squad selected by the senior men’s committee, led by Chairman Vidya Bhaskar, include vice-captain Shubham Khajuria, Vivrant Sharma, Shubham Pundir, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Yudhvir Singh, Umar Nazir and Auqib Nabi.
The Buchi Babu tournament was revived by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) last year after a gap of six years, and will be conducted in the four-day red-ball format, akin to the procedure followed in league stages of Ranji Trophy.
It then serves as vital preparation for 12 participating teams ahead of the upcoming 2024/25 domestic season. Other teams in the competition include Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Hyderabad in Group A, while Group B comprises Railways, Gujarat and TNCA President’s XI, and Group C has Ranji Trophy holders Mumbai, Haryana and TNCA President’s XI clubbed together.
J&K Squad: Paras Dogra (captain), Shubham Khajuria (vice-captain), Shivansh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Ahmed Banday, Abhinav Puri, Shubham Pundir, Vivrant Sharma, Abdul Samad, Abid Mushtaq, Sahil Lotra, Umar Nazir, Yudhvir Singh, Auqib Nabi, Sunil Kumar and Vishal Kumar.
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