Duleep Trophy 2026: Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead West Zone
What's the story
India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named the captain of a star-studded West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The zonal selection committee announced the team on Monday. The tournament will be held from August 23 to September 10 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds in Bengaluru. Shams Mulani, a seasoned left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, has been appointed as Gaikwad's deputy.
Leadership change
Gaikwad takes over from Shardul Thakur
Last year, seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur led West Zone to the Duleep Trophy semi-finals. However, they missed out on making it to the final after Central Zone took an innings lead.
Now, Gaikwad will take over as captain for this year's tournament.
Notably, he is also the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL and was recently part of India's 'A' squad for a 50-over tri-series and red-ball matches against Sri Lanka 'A.'
Information
Gaikwad eyes Test debut
Gaikwad, who has already played ODIs and T20Is for India, will now stake a claim for his Test debut. In 47 First-Class matches, the Indian batter has racked up 3,294 runs at an average of 44.51. His tally includes 9 tons.
Team details
A look at West Zone squad
The West Zone squad also includes two specialist wicketkeepers, Harvik Desai and Urvil Patel.
Apart from Gaikwad, the team features Prithvi Shaw and the dynamic Khan brothers - Sarfaraz and Musheer.
The spin-bowling department will be led by Mulani, off-spin-bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian, and left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai
Meanwhile, Thakur will lead the pace setup with Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chaudhary, and all-rounder Atit Sheth.
Squad
A look at West Zone squad
West Zone squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shams Mulani (vice-captain), Harvik Desai (wicket-keeper), Urvil Patel (wicket-keeper), 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.