In-form Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, whereas rising star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named as the team’s vice-captain. Veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who has been ignored for the national team despite picking 37 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji season across seven matches, has been named in the squad. Mukesh Kumar is the other player who has played Test cricket for India.
Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi has so far featured in only eight first-class matches, but he hasn’t yet ignited a fire in the red-ball format, scoring 207 runs in 12 innings at an average of 17.25, with a best of 93. Sooryavanshi had hogged the limelight after he ended IPL 2026 as the leading run-getter in the tournament with 776 runs in 16 matches for the Rajasthan Royals.
The youngster recently scored 151 runs in three T20Is against Zimbabwe after a slow start against England and was awarded Player of the Series against the Chevrons.
Sooryavanshi is expected to open the innings with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is the most experienced member and the highest run-scorer in the squad. Easwaran, the Bengal veteran, has the experience of 113 first-class matches under his belt.
On the other hand, Riyan Parag and Akash Deep weren’t considered for selection as they continue to recover after undergoing the knife and are still in rehab. Deep is recuperating from back surgery, while Parag is recovering from the right shoulder surgery he underwent after IPL 2026.
East Zone squad
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan (capt), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (vice-captain), Virat Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Shikhar Mohan, Subranshu Senapati, Abhijit Sarkar, Anukul Roy, Denish Das
