Duleep Trophy 2025: Rahane dropped, Shardul to lead West Zone

 Rahane leads Mumbai in domestic cricket, and it was anticipated that he would be named West Zone captain, but he hasn’t been able to secure a position, much less a captaincy.

Shardul Thakur, the star all-rounder, will be spotted at the head of the group instead. It is surprising that Ajinkya Rahane was overlooked by the selectors as the West Zone revealed their team for the forthcoming Duleep Trophy 2025.

The selection committee has also disregarded veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a double hundred during the last Ranji season. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer, who both served as captains during the last Duleep Trophy season, are also on the team. They will only be included in the squad as specialised batters, though.

Notably, Iyer can be selected for the Asia Cup 2025, which starts in September, as a member of the country. He might not be available for West Zone’s games, where they secured a direct trip to the semi-finals thanks to a high finish in the previous zonal season, if the announcement is true. Yashasvi Jaiswal, the star batsman, may be seen playing the role of opener.

The Mumbai all-rounders Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian are among the other well-known players in the West Zone team. Saurabh Nawale has been selected as the wicketkeeping option, while two important pace-bowling alternatives are Arzan Nagwaswala and pacer Tushar Deshpande. Harvik Desai of Saurashtra will also be there to demonstrate his skills.

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, and Shardul Thakur (captain) comprise the West Zone team.

Schedule for the Duleep Trophy in 2025