Akash Deep to miss Duleep Trophy 2025, East Zone names replacement

Akash Deep to miss Duleep Trophy 2025, East Zone pick Mukhtar Hussain as replacement. (Photo source: BCCI)

Indian pacer Akash Deep, fresh off a standout performance in the England Test series, will not feature for East Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy starting August 28 in Bengaluru, according to reports. The right-arm pacer, originally named in the 15-member squad, has been replaced by Assam’s medium pacer Mukhtar Hussain.

Akash was expected to lead the East Zone pace attack alongside seasoned campaigners Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and Suraj Jaiswal. The 28-year-old had been in impressive red-ball form, highlighted by a ten-wicket match haul in India’s commanding 336-run victory at Birmingham, and a valuable half-century as a nightwatcher in the Oval Test. However, he will be watching the tournament from the sidelines this time, with no official reason yet provided for his absence.

The East Zone squad, announced earlier this month at the JSCA International Stadium, will be led by India’s wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan. Despite being left out of the BCCI central contract after missing several red-ball matches, Kishan bounced back strongly with impressive domestic performances last season. The Duleep Trophy offers him a crucial opportunity to stake his claim for a return to India’s Test squad.

Abhimanyu Easwaran will serve as vice-captain. Though he remained on the sidelines during the recent England Tests, Easwaran’s vast domestic experience makes him a reliable deputy. Meanwhile, explosive teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aasirwad Swain, Swastik Samal, Sudip Gharami, and Rahul Singh are among the standby players.

The Duleep Trophy is a six-team zonal format this season, marking the start of the 2025/26 domestic calendar. East Zone will take on North Zone in the quarter-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground, with the winner advancing to face South Zone in the semi-final.

East Zone Squad:

Ishan Kishan (c) (Jharkhand), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc) (Bengal), Sandeep Pattnaik (Odisha), Virat Singh (Jharkhand), Denish Das (Assam), Sridam Paul (Tripura), Sharandeep Singh (Jharkhand), Kumar Kushagra (Jharkhand), Riyan Parag (Assam), Utkarsh Singh (Jharkhand), Manishi (Jharkhand), Suraj Jaiswal (Bengal), Mukesh Kumar (Bengal), Mukhtar Hussain (Assam), Mohammed Shami (Bengal).

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