Gaikwad Overlooked As Shardul Thakur Named Captain Of THIS SIDE

West Zone selectors have named Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur for the upcoming edition of the Duleep Trophy, on August 1 (Friday). Shockingly, however, the selectors have ignored Ruturaj Gaikwad’s captaincy credentials for the inter-zonal tournament.

Indian veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been overlooked for this year’s competition, as Shreyas Iyer marks his Duleep Trophy return. Sarfaraz Khan would be looking at this competition as an opportunity to make his return to the Indian side, after being ignored for the five-match Test series against England. 

Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian and Dharmendra Jadeja will be the spin-bowling options for the side. Mumbai’s Tushar Deshpande and Gujarat’s Arzan Nagwaswala will be the two front-line pace bowling options. 

West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2025

Shardul Thakur (c), 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