Shivam Mavi will make his First Class captaincy debut with Central Zone during the season-opening Duleep Trophy 2023–24 quarterfinal against East Zone at the Alur (I) Cricket Ground here on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Mavi featured in just four First Class matches in the 2022–23 season and has not played any competitive game since the week of his India T20I debut in late January. Mavi, however, did shine with 19 wickets in the limited Ranji Trophy matches he played for Uttar Pradesh last season.
Mavi will find support from his deputy Upendra Yadav, who took over as Railways’ red-ball captain last year. While Yadav is likely to take the wicketkeeping gloves, the Central Zone squad also comprises three other wicketkeepers: Himanshu Mantri, Akshay Wadkar, and Dhruv Jurel.