Abhishek Sharma named in Punjab's Vijay Hazare Trophy squad

Abhishek Sharma has been named in Punjab’s 16-man Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, which begins its campaign against Maharashtra on December 24, while Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh will join the squad at a later stage*, Punjab Cricket Association [PCA] has announced.Punjab have selected a strong group of power-hitters and allrounders, including Prabhsimran Singh, Naman Dhir, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sanvir Singh and Harpreet Brar. Gurnoor Brar and Krish Bhagat will lead the pace attack.The extent of Gill, Abhishek and Arshdeep’s availability remains unclear, with India scheduled to play three ODIs against New Zealand starting January 11, followed by five T20Is from January 21. Gill, recently dropped from India’s T20I squad for the T20 World Cup and the New Zealand T20Is, is set to captain the ODI side, while Abhishek and Arshdeep are part of the T20I squad.Related

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Punjab, last season’s losing quarter-finalists, will play all seven of their league matches in Jaipur. Arshdeep was their leading wicket-taker in the 2024-25 edition. Their group includes Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Goa and Mumbai, with league-stage fixtures concluding on January 8, three days before India’s first ODI.Punjab have not named a captain in the official squad announcement.

Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad

Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Harnoor Pannu, Anmolpreet Singh, Uday Saharan, Naman Dhir, Salil Arora (wk), Sanvir Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Jashanpreet Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Raghu Sharma, Krish Bhagat, Gourav Choudhary, Sukhdeep Bajwa