Vidarbha kept their 17-man roster on Monday in preparation for their match against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy final, which will begin on Wednesday at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha.

At its Monday meeting, the VCA’s senior selection committee made the decision to keep the same team that played in the semifinal match versus Mumbai. The Vidarbha Cricket Association announced on Monday that Akshay Wadkar would captain the team.

With a decisive 80-run victory over reigning champions Mumbai, Vidarbha—who have yet to lose in the top domestic league this season—qualified for the summit match.

It was a rematch of the final from the previous year, when Mumbai defeated the two-time champions Vidarbha to claim their 42nd championship.

In contrast, Kerala will be participating in the Ranji Trophy final for the first time.

Kerala defeated Gujarat by a slim margin of two runs in the semifinals after defeating Jammu and Kashmir by a single run in the first innings in the quarterfinals.

After winning the championship in 2017–18 and 2018–19, Vidarbha will be making their fourth appearance in the Ranji final. They will be counting on their stars, Harsh Dubey (66 wickets) and Yash Rathod (933 runs), to perform well once again.

With 933 runs in nine games, including five hundreds and three fifties, the left-handed Rathod is now the third-highest run scorer in the Ranji Trophy this year, averaging 58.31.

Rathod, 24, scored 54 and 151 in the semifinal match against Mumbai. With 66 wickets at 16.42 in nine games, Vidarbha’s left-arm spinner Dubey has undoubtedly been the most effective bowler. He has taken down as many as 70 maidens and claimed seven five-wicket hauls. (PTI)

Squad: Aditya Thakare, Darshan Nalkande, Nachiket Bhute, Siddhesh Wath (wk), Yash Thakur, Danish Malewar, Parth Rekhade, Karun Nair, Dhruv Shorey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Akshay Karnewar, Yash Kadam, Akshay Wakhare, Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Akshay Wadkar (c&wk), atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, and Harsh Dubey.