The Indian wicket-keeper batter, Ishan Kishan, will not feature for the East Zone for the curtain raiser of the Duleep Trophy 2025 as he hasn’t recovered fully from the minor injury that he picked up in the United Kingdom during his stint with Nottinghamshire. The selectors have replaced him with Odisha’s Ashirwad Swain. It has been revealed that the Jharkhand batter fell off an e-bike.

That was the reason why he wasn’t considered as the replacement of Rishabh Pant ahead of India's fifth and final red-ball clash against England at the Kennington Oval. This was why N Jagadeesan flew as back-up to Dhurv Jurel. Kisha’s injury doesn’t appear to be a serious one, as he could play for India A in the upcoming two four-day fixtures against Australia next month.

See Also: Asia Cup 2025: Why Shubman Gill should be selected in the squad?

The southpaw will now continue to go through the fitness assessment at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru of the BCCI. In his absence, his state team-mate, Kumar Kushagra, will be the first-choice wicket-keeper for the East Zone.

East Zone to miss Akash Deep in Duleep Trophy 2025

East Zone will also be without their fast bowler, Akash Deep, who has been suggested to rest due to his niggle, whose fitness assessment is likely to happen a few days later. He was on the England trip recently and missed the fourth Manchester clash due to a back injury before smashing a fine fifty as a nightwatchman in the second innings of the fifth Oval Test.

Akash Deep enjoyed a decent series with 13 wickets in three games, including a maiden ten-wicket haul during the second Birmingham encounter. Akash has been replaced by Assam’s Mukhtar Hussain for the Abhimanyu-led side. Riyan Parag will be the deputy of Easwaran. Their squad is comprised of Mukhesh Kumar and Mohammed Shami.

East Zone will start their campaign on August 28 against Shubman Gill’s North Zone. All the games will be played at the CoE in Bengaluru.

Updated East Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2025 opener

Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Ashirwad Swain (wk), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Riyan Parag (vice-captain), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain, and Mohammed Shami

The 34-year-old Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami has returned to red-ball cricket as he has been selected for the East Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025-26.

The completed schedule of the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 has recently been released, where the two-time champions East Zone will start their journey in the tournament from their quarter-final match against North Zone, while the tournament will start on August 28. 

Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy season. Meanwhile, the uncapped Indian top-order batter Abhimanyu Easwaran will play the vice-captain role of the team. 

[WATCH] Harry Brook smashes Siraj for Pant-Like six before rain stops play

Mohammed Shami returns to red-ball cricket

India's Bengal pacers Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and Akash Deep are all in the East Zone squad for the forthcoming Duleep Trophy season. While Shami played his last Test during the 2023 ICC World Test Championship Final, his last red-ball cricket was last November. Last season, the right-arm fast bowler played only one Ranji Trophy match, as he was working to regain his fitness, which helped him return to white-ball cricket for India. He participated in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and finished as the joint second leading wicket-taker, while India won the title. 

Shami last played a professional match in the IPL 2025, where the right-arm fast bowler took six wickets in nine matches. Although Shami was picked for Shrachi Rath Tigers for the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025, he later pulled out his name from the tournament. 

Talking about the East Zone squad, Riyan Parag has also been selected, while the teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi is in the standbys. 

Duleep Trophy 2025-26: East Zone complete squad

Ishan Kishan (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami

Standbys: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Rahul Singh