Seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been appointed captain of the 15-member West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy matches. The selection committee meeting held at the BKC’s Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy picked seven players from Mumbai, four from Gujarat, and two each from Maharashtra and Saurashtra.
Besides Thakur, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Shams Mulani, and Sarfaraz Khan are the other big names from Mumbai, while Maharashtra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad is also part of the team. Among the notable absentees from the side are India’s batting stalwarts Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai) and Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra),
The committee, chaired by Sanjay Patil of Mumbai Cricket Association, has also announced a list of seven standby players — Mahesh Pithiya, Shivalik Sharma, Mukesh Chaudhary, Siddharth Desai, Chintan Gaja, Musheer Khan, and Urvil Patel.
The Duleep Trophy, starting August 28, will mark the beginning of India’s domestic cricket season for 2025-26. The red-ball tournament will start with the two quarterfinals. West Zone, who have a direct entry in the semifinal, begin their campaign on September 4.
The final will be played on September 11. All matches will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence ground in Bengaluru.
West Zone squad: Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala