Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in leadership roles as East Zone announce squad for Duleep Trophy

Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone in the upcoming edition of the Duleep Trophy. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named his deputy as he continues to soar high in professional cricket. It is understood that Sooryavanshi's rising stature has helped him earn the vice-captain's tag.

The squad includes two Test players in the form of Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar. Shami's last red-ball appearance for India came against Australia in June at the Oval in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle.

His last international appearance was the final of the ICC Champions Trophy against New Zealand on March 9, 2025, in Dubai. Shami brings a wealth of red-ball experience to East Zone's squad. The right-arm pacer has played 64 Tests and claimed 229 wickets, averaging 27.71, including six five-fors.

Meanwhile, Mukesh has seven wickets in three Tests. His last red-ball game for Team India came in Vizag against England in February 2024. Akash Deep and Riyan Parag weren't considered for selection as they continue to recover from surgeries and are undergoing rehab.

Deep is completing his rehab following back surgery. He couldn't represent Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL. On the other hand, Parag was forced to undergo surgery on his right shoulder after the end of the IPL.

In the batting department, East Zone can afford to fall back on the vast domestic experience of stalwart Abhimanyu Easwaran.

The opening batter has played 113 first-class games and aggregated 8381 runs at an average of 47.61, including 27 centuries and 36 fifties. He is likely to open alongside Sooryavanshi, in what would be a fire and ice combination for the team up front.

Jharkhand's leading run-getter in the previous edition of the Ranji Trophy, Shikhar Mohan, has also been added to the squad. Batter Virat Singh, wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra and batting allrounder Anukul Roy, who also play for Jharkhand, have been named in the team.

Kushagra and Roy were a part of the India A outfit that won the A-Team tri-nation series held in Sri Lanka in June.

East Zone squad

Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan (captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (vice-captain), Virat Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Shikhar Mohan, Subranshu Senapati, Abhijit Sarkar, Anukul Roy, Denish Das