.jpeg "Featured Image")
The Duleep Trophy 2025 is scheduled to begin on August 28 in Bengaluru. A total of 6 teams will participate in this tournament. However, the East Zone team has received a major setback before the big Indian domestic tournament. India’s star wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the Duleep Trophy 2025. Ishan was appointed captain of the East Zone team a few weeks ago, but now he will not be able to participate in this six-team domestic tournament. His replacement has been announced and a new captain has also been chosen.
There is no clear reason yet for Ishan Kishan’s withdrawal from the Duleep Trophy. In his place, 20-year-old Odisha wicketkeeper-batsman Ashirbad Swain has been included in the team. This was confirmed by the Odisha Cricket Association on its official X handle. In Ishan’s absence, Bengal’s experienced batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran has been given the captaincy of the East Zone. Abhimanyu Easwaran was part of the Indian Test team on the England tour recently. However, he did not get a chance to play a single match.
Ashirbad Swain has played 11 matches in first-class cricket so far, in which he has scored 615 runs at an average of 30.75 in 21 innings. His best score is 77 runs, and he has scored three half-centuries. Apart from this, he has also taken 32 catches and 3 stumpings. The first quarter-final match of the Duleep Trophy 2025 will be played between East Zone and North Zone from August 28 to 31 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. Shubman Gill is the captain of the North Zone team.
East Zone Team for Duleep Trophy:
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ashirbad Swain (wicketkeeper), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Danish Das, Sreejan Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, and Mohammad Shami.
Standby: Mukhtar Hussain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudeep Kumar Gharami, and Rahul Singh.
