Nagpur, Oct 6 (PTI) Defending champions Vidrabha on Monday named Shivam Deshmukh and Praful Hinge in their 17-member squad, led by Akshay Wadkar, for the season-opening clash against Nagaland in Bengaluru.

Vidarbha, who defeated Kerala in the last season's title clash, will face Nagaland at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence Ground from October 15-18.

Vidarbha are placed in Ranji Trophy Elite Group A along with Uttar Pradesh, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Odisha, Baroda and Nagaland.

Vidarbha are coming off a huge 93-run victory against the Rest of India in the Irani Cup.

The defending champions will be without their star batter Karun Nair, who has been replaced by Karnataka batter Ravikumar Samarth.

Usman Ghani will continue to coach the Vidarbha side while Dharmender Ahlawat has been

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