Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar rues not making it in any of the Duleep Trophy teams

And apart from that hundred I had seven half-centuries last season. So I was expecting my name in one of the Duleep Trophy teams.

Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar, who scored a gutsy knock of 102 against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final last season, felt his fighting knock and season’s performance went unnoticed. Vidarbha’s wicketkeeper-batsman, who was not considered for any of the Duleep Trophy teams, said he will work hard to score more runs this season. “I scored 600-plus [637] runs last season. I scored a hundred against India’s top team Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium, but that went unnoticed. And apart from that hundred I had seven half-centuries last season. So I was expecting my name in one of the Duleep Trophy teams. 

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“It’s human nature and anyone can get disappointed due to this and I am no exception,” Wadkar told mid-day from Nagpur on Thursday. Though Wadkar missed the opportunity, his Vidarbha teammates—opener Atharva Taide (scored 584 runs last season) and pacer Aditya Thakare (35 wickets) got picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee and will be seen in action in captain Shreyas Iyer’s Team D. 

Wadkar, 30, was among the 12 top run-getters in the country in 2023-24. “After such performances, players can expect to get selected and [expect] a chance to play at the higher level and for the country. But now I have to think if there is anything I am lacking and what more do I need to do. Performances for Vidarbha is not enough [to get selected]. It could have been a different story had I been among the five top run-getters in India,” remarked Wadkar.

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