Duleep Trophy 2025: Ajinkya Rahane dropped, Shardul Thakur named West Zone captain

The West Zone has announced its squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025, and in a move that comes as a surprise, Ajinkya Rahane has been ignored by the selectors. Rahane captains Mumbai in domestic cricket, and his appointment as the West Zone captain was expected, but he hasn't found a spot, let alone captaincy. Instead, star all-rounder Shardul Thakur will be seen leading the pack.

Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who hit a double hundred in the previous Ranji season has also been ignored by the selection committee. The squad also has the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad, both of whom were captains at the previous season of the Duleep Trophy. However, they will be featuring in the squad only as specialist batters.

Notably, Iyer may be picked for national duties to play in the Asia Cup 2025, which begins in September. If the announcement is confirmed, he might not be available for the fixtures of West Zone, where they have earned a direct entry into the semi-finals courtesy of a strong finish in the previous zonal season. Star batter Yashasvi Jaiswal might be seen donning the opener's role.

Sarfaraz Khan, on the other hand, has retained his spot after impressive outings for the Indian team in the previous season. He has been in the know of late for working on his fitness regime, and coming back fitter than ever. His younger brother Musheer Khan, who impressed with a brilliant 181 in the previous season at Bengaluru, hasn't found a place in the main squad, but he will be available as one of the seven standby players.

Other notable names in the West Zone squad include Mumbai's all-rounder duo of Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian. Pacer Tushar Deshpande and Arzan Nagwaswala are the two significant pace-bowling options, whereas, Saurabh Nawale has been picked as the wicketkeeping option. Saurashtra's Harvik Desai will also be present to showcase his prowess.

West Zone squad: Shardul Thakur (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala

Stand-by players: Chintan Gaja, Musheer Khan, Mahesh Pithiya, Mukesh Chaudhary, Siddharath Desai, Urvil Patel, Shivalik Sharma

Duleep Trophy 2025 Schedule