Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande was working out at a gymnasium in Kalyan on Sunday afternoon when Mumbai Cricket Association’s Secretary, Ajinkya Naik informed him that he had to join West Zone’s Duleep Trophy team in Bangalore. Deshpande will replace injured Saurashtra left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya. He will leave for Bangalore today [Monday] to join his team ahead of their semi-final clash with Central Zone starting on Wednesday.

Deshpande, 28, who claimed 23 wickets in six Ranji Trophy games in the 2022-23 season, was part of Chennai Super Kings’s (CSK) IPL-winning squad. He claimed 21 wickets for the champions. However, he was not selected in the initial 15-member West Zone squad, something that this newspaper had highlighted.