Shillong, Aug 12: On the back of their strong performance last season, three Meghalaya Cricket Association players have been selected to represent the North East Zone in the BCCI’s coveted Duleep Trophy 2025-26, it was announced today.

Batter Arpit Bhatewara, fast bowler Akash Kumar Choudhary and left-arm orthodox spinner Aryan Borah are the three Meghalayans in the 15-member squad. Akash, who was also part of the squad last season, has been named vice-captain of the regional team.

The squad was chosen by the North East Zonal Selection Committee, which met on Monday in Guwahati. The Duleep Trophy 2025-26 will be held in Bengaluru from 28 August to 15 September and the North East Zone comprises Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.

Selection was aimed at arriving at a well-balanced squad with expertise in bowling, batting and fielding departments and based on the performance of the players who participated in various BCCI Tournaments in 2024-25.

In addition to the squad of 15, seven standbys were also named, including one from Meghalaya – pace bowler Dippu Sangma.

Vikash Singh Chauhan, the Meghalaya team’s trainer, was also selected as the North East Zone’s trainer for the tournament.

A pre-tournament camp will be held in Dimapur, hosted by the Nagaland Cricket Association, from 18 to 24 August. The team will then depart for Bengaluru from Dimapur on 25 August. The overall expenses for the camp will be shared equally by the six North East states.

North East Zone squad:
Techi Doria (Arunachal), Yumnam Karnajit (Manipur), Sedezhalie Rupero (Nagaland), Ashish Thapa (Sikkim), Hem Bahadur Chetri (Nagaland), Jehu Anderson (Mizoram), Arpit Subash Bhatewara (Meghalaya), Pheiroijam Jotin Singh (Manipur), Palzor Tamang (Sikkim), Jonathan Rongsen (C) (Nagaland), Ankur Malik (Sikkim), Akash Kumar Choudhary (VC) (Meghalaya), Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam (Manipur), Aryan Borah (Meghalaya), Lamabam Ajay Singh (Manipur)