Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of East Zone’s Duleep Trophy opener as he continues to recover from an injury sustained during his county stint with Nottinghamshire. Kishan reportedly fell off an e-bike in the UK, requiring multiple stitches. This setback also kept him out of consideration as Rishabh Pant’s replacement during India’s final Test against England, with N Jagadeesan stepping in as back-up to Dhruv Jurel.
Although the injury is not considered serious, the decision to rest Kishan is precautionary, with selectors keen to keep him fit for India A’s two upcoming four-day fixtures against Australia. In his absence, Odisha’s Aashirwad Swain has been added to the squad, while Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra is expected to take over as East Zone’s first-choice wicketkeeper. Kishan will continue his recovery and undergo a fitness test at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
East Zone have also suffered another blow with fast bowler Akash Deep unavailable. He has been advised rest, though the specifics of his niggle remain unclear. Akash was part of India’s recent Test series in England, where he picked up 13 wickets in three matches, including a ten-wicket haul in Birmingham. He also impressed with the bat, scoring a maiden half-century in Manchester. Assam pacer Mukhtar Hussain has been drafted in as his replacement.
Led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, East Zone will face Shubman Gill’s North Zone in their opening quarterfinal on August 28 at the CoE in Bengaluru. Riyan Parag has been appointed vice-captain, while Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar bring international experience to the squad.
East Zone squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Aashirwad Swain (wk), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Riyan Parag (vc), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain, Mohammed Shami.
