Suresh Raina released from the Uttar Pradesh side for the Vijay Hazare Trophy

Following Suresh Raina’s recall to the Indian T20I side, there was always a question mark over his participation in Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic List A tournament. Earlier today (February 1) the Uttar Pradesh squad was announced and Raina has been released from the team and will not be taking part in the domestic tournament this year.

The 30-year-old wasn’t considered for national selection due to fitness issues as he failed to clear the yo-yo test which has been instilled as the fitness parameter. However, after having passed the Yo-Yo test at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and with some impressive performances in the Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, Raina is back in the mix. He is currently at the NCA working on his fitness before leaving for South Africa.

Uttar Pradesh’ squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 

Akshdeep Nath will lead the UP side in Raina’s absence. He was recently acquired by the Kings XI Punjab for INR 1 crore in the IPL auction. Shivam Mavi and Aryan Juyal, two players who are part of the India U19 team in the ongoing World Cup have also been drafted in the squad.

Known for bowling in the 140 kph range quite consistently, Mavi would be looking to make a good first impression for his state. The right-arm pacer struck a good deal in the IPL auction as he went to Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 3 crore. On the other hand, Aryan Juyal is a wicketkeeper-batsman and would be looking forward to making it count.

The U19 World Cup final is scheduled to be played on Saturday while the Vijay Hazare Trophy commences on Monday (February 5). Hence both the players will miss the first couple of games. The likes of Ankit Rajpoot, Prashant Gupta, Saurabh Kumar and Rinku Singh have also been included.

Uttar Pradesh squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy:

Akshdeep Nath (C), Prashant Gupta, Shivam Chaudhary, Umang Sharma, Rinku Singh, Mohammed Saif, Upendra Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Mohsin Khan, Kartik Tyagi, Ankit Rajpoot, Shivam Mavi, Shubham ChaubeA, Israr Khan, Shanu Saini, Aryan Juyal, Shubham Agarwal.