Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal in frame | PC- AFP
West Zone's squad for the Duleep Trophy 2026 has been unveiled, with Ruturaj Gaikwad named as the captain and Shams Mulani picked as his deputy. The BCCI tournament will kickstart on August 23.
A total of six teams will contest in the red-ball tournament: East Zone, North East Zone, West Zone, Central Zone and South Zone.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led team will play the quarterfinal 2 of the tournament from August 23-26 against the North East Zone. The winner of that clash will then take on either the Central Zone or the South Zone, the two finalists of the 2025 Duleep Trophy.
Led by Rajat Paditar, Central Zone won the previous edition of the BCCI tournament, beating Tilak Varma's side by six wickets.
Ruturaj Gaikwad-led West Zone squad picked for Duleep Trophy 2026
Prithvi Shaw, Musheer Khan and Sarfaraz Khan are among the notable batters in the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2026. While last edition's captain, Shardul Thakur, is also picked by the selectors, alongside IPL star speedsters Tushar Deshpande and Mukesh Chaudhary.
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All-rounders Atit Sheth and Tanush Kotian have also been named in the 15-member squad. Harvik Desai and Urvil Patel are named as wicketkeeping options to represent the West Zone.
The selectors have anointed six reserve players for the tournament, ie. Jay Gohil, Aarya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jayswal, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Yashasvi Jaiswal ignored from West Zone squad
Among popular names who could have been named in the West Zone squad are Mumbai’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer.
Although the left-handed opener will be busy with his national duties in the Test matches against Sri Lanka, the absence of Suryakumar and Shreyas is a point of concern. Moreover, Indian stalwart Ajinkya Rahane is also not picked for the Duleep Trophy, which shows that the BCCI is looking at the future.
It is worth mentioning that the Indian T20I captain has not been playing red-ball cricket actively since experiencing back issues while batting for long hours. The last multi-day tournament he played was the last edition of the Duleep Trophy.
Moreover, the former Indian T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav will likely play for Mumbai in the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2026/27, as he is looking to earn a recall to the Indian side.
West Zone Squad for Duleep Trophy 2026
Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shams Mulani (vice-captain), Harvik Desai (wk), Urvil Patel (wk), Jaymeet Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma, Siddharth Desai, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Atit Sheth, Mukesh Chaudhary, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, and Tushar Deshpande.
Reserve players: Jay Gohil, Aarya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jayswal, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
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