East Zone have named a 15-member squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, starting August 23. Ishan Kishan has been announced as the new captain, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will serve as his deputy.
Meanwhile, Riyan Parag, who served as captain in the 2025 edition, has been ruled out owing to a hamstring injury. The Assam-born suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL 2026 and has undergone surgery in the month of June. He remains to be out of action as thereโs no concrete plan for his possible return. After gaining fitness, he is expected to report to BCCIโs CoE.ย
Sooryavanshi, on the other hand, has been given the leadership role as BCCI aims to prepare him accordingly. The 15-year-old has led the team in the youth series against South Africa and was also named as the vice-captain during the U19 ODI World Cup earlier in the year.ย
Litmus test for Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami has been knocking on the door for over a year now. He has proved his mettle in domestic cricket, but the BCCI selectors havenโt looked back on the veteran. Especially in red-ball cricket. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has pointed to his fitness as a sign of concern, but Shami looked in fine form in the Ranji Trophy last season.
Now that the Indian team is struggling in red-ball cricket, having lost multiple home series in the last couple of years, Shami could be one of the options they consider again if the two-match series against Sri Lanka donโt go as per the plan. On the other hand, Mukesh Kumar also has the perfect opportunity to prove himself, as the Bengal pacer has been out of the scheme of things since the series against England.
Meanwhile, another notable absentee is Akash Deep. He suffered a back injury during the IPL and has been out of action since. In his absence, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal could be drafted into the playing XI and the Bengal pacer could be one of the players to watch out for after the brilliant season he enjoyed in 2025-2026.
East Zone squad – Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Kishan (c), Kumar Kushagra, Shikhar Mohan, Anukul Roy, Virat Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Subhranshu Senapati, Denish Das, Abhijit Sarkar
Also Read:
Australia opener’s brother to play for European team, following Italy’s footsteps