India’s veteran seamer Mohammed Shami has been selected for the East Zone 15-member squad for the upcoming 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, with Ishan Kishan appointed as captain and Abhimanyu Easwaran as vice-captain. The tournament, scheduled from August 28 to September 15, will mark the beginning of the Indian domestic cricket season.Shami, 34, was last seen in action during the 2025 Indian Premier League, where he claimed six wickets in nine matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad. His most recent first-class appearance was for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy in November 2024.The East Zone squad features notable players including seamers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, along with all-rounder Riyan Parag. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is currently part of India’s Test squad in England, will serve as the team’s vice-captain.The tournament organizers have also named six standby players, including Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who recently made headlines by scoring the fastest century in Youth ODIs during India Under-19’s England tour. Left-arm spinner Manishi, who took 22 wickets in seven games, and Jharkhand’s top run-scorers Virat Singh and Sharandeep Singh are also among the standbys.The Duleep Trophy’s format has undergone changes in recent years. While South Zone won the tournament in its last zonal format edition in 2023-24, the previous year saw the competition organized with four different Indian squads – A, B, C, and D – selected by the BCCI.
Poll
What are your expectations for Ishan Kishan as the captain of East Zone?
East Zone will face North Zone in the tournament’s opening match, scheduled for August 28 at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence. The complete East Zone squad comprises Ishan Kishan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Shami. Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, and Rahul Singh are in standbys.
