Ashish Thapa today became the first Sikkimese player to play in the high-profile Duleep Trophy.Thapa and North East Zone, the new addition to the tournament, made Duleep Trophy debut against a powerful West Zone side at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.Sikkim cricket fans will have to wait for a day or two to watch Thapa, the first Sikkimese player to score a First Class century, bat.Only 25 overs of play were possible on a rain-curtailed day 1.Put in to bat first, openers Prithvi Shaw and Yashasvi Jaiswal put West Zone in early command with the two scoring half-centuries to put up an unbeaten 116-run stand.The West Zone side is overwhelming favourites with veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane at the helm of things, accompanied by an array of young Indian stars including Shreyas Iyer, Shaw, Jaiswal and Jaydev Unadkat.However, cricket pundits aren't ruling out the North Eastt eam creating a huge upset.With North East Zone competing in the esteemed competition for the very first time after being affiliated to the Board of Cricket Council of India (BCCI), Thapa along with Sikkim under-23 player Ankur Malik was picked in the 15-member North East Zone squad led by Nagaland's Hokaito Zhimomi.The North East Zone team comprise of only local players as the northeast selectors deciding to go ahead with home-grown talents.Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim are part of the North East zone.The iconic Duleep Trophy, which sees participation of many of the top Indian players, was reintroduced this year after a three-season gap.