Ruturaj Gaikwad to Lead West Zone in Duleep Trophy as Prithvi Shaw Earns Recall

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed captain of the West Zone squad for the upcoming 2026-27 Duleep Trophy, with the tournament set to commence on August 23 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The 29-year-old batter, who captains Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and recently served as vice-captain to Tilak Varma during last month’s ‘A’ tri-series in Sri Lanka, takes over the leadership of the inter-zonal group. Shams Mulani, the Mumbai all-rounder, has been named his deputy.

The West Zone selection bears a distinct Mumbai flavour, with several players from the domestic powerhouse making the cut. Shardul Thakur, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Tushar Deshpande and Tanush Kotian join Gaikwad and Mulani in a squad that leans heavily on the city’s rich cricketing talent pool.

The most notable inclusion, however, is that of Prithvi Shaw. The opening batter, who moved from Mumbai to Maharashtra ahead of last season, has been recalled to the West Zone setup after being overlooked for the previous edition. Shaw was first selected for a Duleep Trophy squad in 2017 as a 17-year-old prodigy, but his career has since traversed a turbulent path. Having not featured in an IPL game since 2024, Shaw will view this selection as a vital opportunity to reignite his domestic campaign at the start of the new season.

There was no place in the 15-man squad for Ayush Mhatre, the 19-year-old Mumbai player who missed the second half of IPL 2026 due to injury.

West Zone will be eager to go one better than last year, when they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Central Zone, who secured victory on the strength of a first-innings lead before going on to claim the trophy.

West Zone Full Squad-

Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Shams Mulani (VC), Shardul Thakur, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Tanush Kotian, Harvik Desai (wk), Jaymeet Patel, Urvil Patel, Siddharth Desai, Atit Sheth, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma and Mukesh Choudhary.

                                               

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