Duleep Trophy 2025: Mohammed Shami named in East Zone squad, Ishan Kishan to lead

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been named in the East Zone squad for the 2025–26 Duleep Trophy. Ishan Kishan, who recently scored two half-centuries for Nottinghamshire in the ongoing County Championship Division One, has been appointed captain of the 15-member squad, with Abhimanyu Easwaran, a member of India’s Test squad in England, named as vice-captain.

The squad also includes Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, and Riyan Parag. Notably, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who smashed the fastest century in Youth ODIs during India Under-19’s tour of England last month, has been named among the six standbys.

Shami last featured in competitive cricket during IPL 2025, where he picked up six wickets in nine matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad. His last first-class appearance came in November 2024 for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. Meanwhile, there was no place in the squad for Sudip Chatterjee, Bengal’s top run-scorer from the previous Ranji season, while Sudip Kumar Gharami, the second-highest run-getter, has been named in the standby list.

Jharkhand’s leading scorers from last season, Virat Singh and Sharandeep Singh, have been included, along with left-arm spinner Manishi, who took 22 wickets in seven matches.

The Duleep Trophy will be played in a zonal format, with zonal selectors, rather than national selectors, choosing the squads. The East Zone team was selected by Alokendu Lahiri (Bengal), Abakash Khatua (Odisha), Sunil Kumar Singh (Bihar), Manish Wardhan (Jharkhand), Sumit Ranjah Das (Assam), and Upananda Debbarma (Tripura), with Jharkhand State Cricket Association secretary Saurabh Tiwary convening the meeting.

The tournament will begin with East Zone facing North Zone in the opening match from August 28 at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

East Zone squad

Ishan Kishan (capt), 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