New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI): India’s star seamer Mohammed Shami has been named in the East Zone 15-member squad for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The 34-year-old seamer last played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2025, where he took six wickets in nine games for his new team, Sunrisers Hyderabad. In November 2024, he played his last first-class match for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy.
Ishan Kishan is named captain of the 15-member squad, which also includes Indian seamer Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and all-rounder Riyan Parag. Abhimanyu Easwaran, part of India’s Test squad in England, was named vice-captain.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who scored the quickest century in Youth ODIs during India Under-19’s tour to England last month, was one of the six standbys.
The group also included left-arm spinner Manishi, who picked up 22 wickets in seven games, Virat Singh and Sharandeep Singh, who were Jharkhand’s top two run-scorers in the prior Ranji Trophy.
The Duleep Trophy was last played in the zonal format in 2023-24, when South Zone won the tournament. East Zone will play the domestic season’s opening game against North Zone from August 28 at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
The competition, to be held from August 28 to September 15, will mark the start of the Indian domestic season 2025-26. Last year, the tournament shifted from its usual zonal format to having four different Indian squads, A, B, C and D, selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
East Zone squad:
Ishan Kishan (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami
Standbys: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Rahul Singh. (ANI)
