Behera to lead East Zone in Duleep tie

Kolkata: Orissa batsman Natraj Behera was Wednesday named captain to lead a 15-member East Zone squad, who will take on West Zone in their Duleep Trophy opener at Valsad (Gujarat) from January 27-30.

Behera was named skipper in place of stylish Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary who was picked for the upcoming Triangular series in Australia.

Orissa coach and former India seamer Debasis Mohanty will coach the East Zone side.

Natraj Behera will captain East Zone in Duleep Trophy opener in the absence of Manoj Tiwary.

The squad has five from Bengal including wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami in place of Wriddhiman Saha who is also doing national duty in the ongoing Test series Down Under.

Jharkhand's Ishank Jaggi will be Behera's deputy as the two state associations have three players each in the squad.

Assam too have three players in the side including former Maharasthra opening batsman Dheeraj Jadhav and medium-pacer Abu Nachim Ahmed.

Tripura have the sole representation in Subhrajit Roy.

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