Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) young all-rounder Harsh Dubey carried his stunning form into the Irani Cup final. He took 6 wickets in the final match of the tournament and helped Vidharbha to win against the Rest of India. In the 2nd innings of the match, Dubey claimed 4 wickets to go with the first-innings brace. 

Vidharbha emerged as the winner of the Irani Cup 2025, defeating the Rest of India. The match was a thrilling encounter, differentiated by some individuals' brilliance, including the brilliant spells by Harsh Dubey, though it was Atharva Taide who was named as the best player of the match for his first-innings 143-run innings. 

Batting first, Vidharbha scored 342 runs, powered by Atharva's hundred-plus-run innings. In reply, the Rest of India registered 214 runs. The first-inning lead for Vidharbha shaped the match for them to lift the trophy. During the first innings of the Rest of India, Yash Thakur plucked 4 wickets. In the second innings, Vidharbha and the Rest of India scored 232 runs and 267 runs, respectively. Vidharbha, led by Akshay Wadkar, won the final by 93 runs. 

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Harsh Dubey stepped up during the high time of the match. When the rest of India was chasing a challenging target of 361 runs, the emerging all-rounder cleared Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ishan Kishan, Akash Deep, and Gurnoor Brar. 

The 23-year-old has been in splendid form from the beginning of this year. In the last ten matches, including the Irani Cup 2025 final, he bagged 20 wickets. During the 2nd semifinal of the Duleep Trophy 2025, he took 6 wickets for Central Zone and scored 75 runs as well. Against the Northeast Zone, he picked 4 wickets in the Duleep Trophy. Dubey represented the India A team as well against the Australia A team and the England Lions. 

A bunch of squads BCCI announced on September 25 morning multiple upcoming tournaments, including the India vs West Indies Test series. India A, and Rest of India will also be in action in the near future. For that, the board confirmed multiple squads. BCCI assigns Rajat Patidar as the captain of the Rest of India for the Irani Cup. Ruturaj Gaikwad will assist him as the vice captain. 

2025 has been a stunning year so far for Rajat Patidar. Under his leadership, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the Indian Premier League title for the first time ever in the history of the competition. From then, no turning back for the 32-year-old. Along with his leadership qualities, he continued to capture headlines with his batting form as well. 

In the middle of September this year, the middle-order batter guided Central Zone to become the champion of the Duleep Trophy 2025. In three Duleep Trophy matches, the batter smashed a couple of centuries and a couple of half-centuries. One of his hundreds came against South Zone in the final match of the tournament. 

Read More: Karun Nair OUT! BCCI confirms India squad for West Indies Test series

Shreyas Iyer out, Rajat Patidar to lead Rest of India 

Shreyas Iyer is not named in the squad, as he wished to take a long break from red-ball. Iyer, with a history of back injury, again felt discomfort while playing in multi-day format cricket, BCCI informed. So, the board left him out of multi-day cricket matches. Which perhaps came as an opportunity for Patidar to become the captain of the Rest of India. 

🚨 NEWS 🚨

India A and Rest of India squads announced.

Details 🔽https://t.co/dxKoR98VzX

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 25, 2025

Rest of India squad for Irani Cup: Rajat Patidar (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Aryan Juyal (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yash Dhull, Shaikh Rasheed, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Saransh Jain. 

Just an hour before the 15-member squad announcement for three unofficial ODIs against Australia A, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad. They also revealed the Rest of India (ROI) side for the upcoming Irani Cup 2025, which will be played against the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 winner, Vidarbha, from October 01 in Nagpur.

For the opening unofficial ODI, there is no vice-captain for Shreyas Iyer’s leadership as the games will be played in Kanpur, from September 30. Once the Asia Cup 2025 ends, Tilak Verma will become the vice-captain, while Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh will join the squad for the second game.

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For the Rest of India squad, Rajat Patidar, the winning captain of the Duleep Trophy 2025, will lead the side, as Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the vice-captain of the squad. Ishan Kisan returns from injury, while Manav Suthar’s inclusion indicates he won’t get a place for the home West Indies series.

BCCI announces India A and ROI squad ahead of domestic season 2025-26

Khaleel Ahmed is likely to lead the pace attack of the ROI side, while Saransh Jain has also been selected. Abhimanyu Easwaran will be the opener of the team to take on Vidarbha.

“Mr. Shreyas Iyer has informed the BCCI of his decision to take a six-month break from red-ball cricket. Having undergone back surgery in the UK and managed his recovery well, he has recently experienced recurring back spasms and stiffness while playing the longer format.” The BCCI revealed in an official statement.

India’s A Squad for 1st Unofficial ODI:

Shreyas Iyer (C), Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (WK), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh

India’s A Squad for 2nd and 3rd Unofficial ODIs:

Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Verma (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (WK), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh

Rest of India Squad (Irani Cup):

Rajat Patidar (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Aryan Juyal (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yash Dhull, Shaikh Rasheed, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Saransh Jain

Duleep Trophy 2025-26 is returning in an inter-zonal format, the previous format, while eliminating the latest played format, A-B-C-D. Apart from the revelation of the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 complete fixtures, the Irani Cup venue has also been decided.   

The six-team Duleep Trophy 2025-26 will run between August 28 and September 15, 2025. The six teams are South Zone, West Zone, North Zone, East Zone, Central Zone, and North-East Zone. Bengaluru venues BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground and BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B will host all the upcoming Duleep Trophy matches. 

While South Zone and West Zone have been directly seeded to the Semi-finals of the Duleep Trophy 2025-26, the other four teams will start the tournament from the quarter-finals. 

Meanwhile, Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur will host the Irani Cup 2025/26, while the five-day match will be played between October 1 and 5, 2025. While Vidarbha won their third Ranji Trophy last season after beating Kerala in the Final, they will host Rest of India in this season's Irani Cup. 

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Duleep Trophy 2025-26: Full Schedule

Quarter-finals: August 28-31

• North Zone vs East Zone at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground (Bengaluru)
• Central Zone vs North-East Zone at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B (Bengaluru)

Semi-finals: September 4-7

• South Zone vs TBD at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground (Bengaluru)
• West Zone vs TBD at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B (Bengaluru)

Final: September 11-15

• TBD vs TBD at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground (Bengaluru)

Reported South Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2025-26

Tilak Varma (Captain), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vice-capt, wk), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, N Jagadeesan (wk), T Vijay, R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar.

Stand-bys: Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Eden Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed

Head Coach: Lakshmipathy Balaji

Irani Cup 2025-26

• Vidarbha vs Rest of India at Nagpur on October 1-5 

BCCI Announces Big Changes for 2025–26 Domestic Cricket Season: Full Schedule Out

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has changed and took some big updates for the 2025–26 domestic season, along with the full schedule. One of the main changes is that the Duleep Trophy will go back to its old format zonal teams picked by zonal selectors. Last season, it was played between four mixed Indian teams, but now it will once again be North, South, East, West, and Central Zones competing.

In the Ranji Trophy, the promotion system has been made stricter. Now, only one team from the Plate Group will move up to the Elite Group, and only one team will drop down. This means fewer teams will change groups this season.

There’s also a new twist in India’s domestic T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Instead of knockout matches after the group stage, there will now be a Super League. The top 8 teams from the group stage will be split into two groups of four. Each team will play 3 matches in their group, and the group winners will face off in the final. This same format will also be used for the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy.

New Grouping for One-Day Tournaments

The Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and Men’s U23 State A Trophy will now have a new group format. Earlier, the Vijay Hazare Trophy had five groups of uneven sizes. From now on, all three tournaments will have four Elite Groups and one Plate Group. Teams have been grouped based on their past performances how many matches they won, their total points, and their net run rate. Teams that don’t perform well will be pushed down to the Plate Group for the next season’s limited-overs tournaments.

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When Does the Season Start?

The new domestic season will kick off on August 28, 2025, with the Duleep Trophy, and will end on April 3, 2026, with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy. The entire season will run for a little over five months, packed with exciting matches across all formats.

Key Changes in Indian Domestic Cricket for the 2025–26 Season

The BCCI has made several important updates to the domestic cricket structure for the 2025–26 season. These changes are aimed at making the competitions more competitive and better organized.

Major Updates at a Glance

2025–26 Key Tournament Schedule

India vs New Zealand 2026: Probable ODI & T20I Venues

Ajinkya Rahane’s Mumbai team made history on Saturday by clinching the Irani Cup for the first time in 27 years, defeating the Rest of India (RoI) side at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. This monumental victory marks Mumbai’s 15th Irani Cup title, the most by any Ranji Trophy team, further cementing their legacy as one of India's premier cricket teams.

Sarfaraz Khan shines with unbeaten double century

After being sent in to bat on Day 1, Mumbai made a commanding start by posting a formidable total of 537, thanks to Sarfaraz Khan’s blistering unbeaten knock of 222, his fourth First-Class double hundred. Sarfaraz’s innings was the cornerstone of Mumbai’s batting effort, while captain Ajinkya Rahane also contributed with a solid 97. The partnership laid the foundation for Mumbai’s dominance in the match.

𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 👏 👏

Mohit Avasthi gets his 50. Tanush Kotian remains unbeaten on 114. The players shake hands 🤝

The match ends in a draw & Mumbai win the trophy by virtue of taking first-innings lead 🙌#IraniCup | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/0GTKkAdU6m

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 5, 2024

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Kotian’s heroics and Easwaran’s fightback

In response, Rest of India managed to score 416, with Abhimanyu Easwaran leading the fight with a brilliant 191. However, Mumbai's bowlers worked cohesively to secure a crucial 121-run first-innings lead, a margin that would prove to be the turning point. Mumbai’s second innings saw a shaky start with early dismissals, but Tanush Kotian’s heroic unbeaten 114 and Mohit Avasthi’s 51 not out stabilized the innings. The duo's unbroken 158-run partnership took the game beyond RoI’s reach.

With the match heading toward a draw, the teams shook hands when Mumbai reached 329 for 8, handing them victory based on their first-innings lead.

Experienced India all-rounder Shardul Thakur was rushed to a local hospital due to a high fever soon after the second day’s play of the Irani Cup match between Mumbai and the Rest of India in Lucknow. He battled with 102 degrees fever to contribute an all-important 36 runs in a 73-run ninth-wicket stand alongside Sarfaraz Khan during his time at the crease, according to The Indian Express.

Shardul Thakur batted through illness

On Day 1 also, Shardul Thakur had already shown signs of illness, as he was suffering from a mild fever. However, his condition became worse after spending close to two hours batting on Day 2 as well. Moreover, he had to take breaks twice during the innings, during which the team doctor checked his condition as well.

Despite his poor health condition, Thakur remained committed to the team. After his important knock, the Mumbai team management decided to take him to a nearby hospital in Lucknow, where he would be kept under observation for the night as well. The medical team is closely monitoring his condition, with doctors expected to decide on his fitness for Day 3 after checking his health progress.

SEE ALSO: Talented youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi hits 58-ball hundred in youth Test

Shardul Thakur played a key knock

A source told the newspaper that Thakur was feeling weak throughout the day but he still went to bat despite his high fever. While medical tests for malaria and dengue were carried out, the team is awaiting results before taking a call regarding his further participation in the match as well. Thakur’s knock last 59 deliveries, where he hit a six and four boundaries as well.

However, he played cautiously and didn't play any rash shots, supporting Sarfaraz Khan well, who remained unbeaten on 221 at the end of Day 2 as well.

Musheer Khan will be out of action for quite some time now

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Sarfaraz Khan has been released from the Test squad in Kanpur

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the 15-member Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup 2024/25, starting on October 1, 2024. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host this match.

On Tuesday (September 24), the men’s selection committee picked the 15-member Rest of India squad for the upcoming Irani Cup. They will face the reigning Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai in the Irani Cup.

SEE ALSO: Former Indian vice-captain lead Mumbai in Irani Cup

Rest of India 2024/25: Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, vice-captain Abhimanyu Easwaran

Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the Rest of India, while Abhimanyu Easwaran will play the vice-captain role of the team that has won a record 30 Irani Cups. The team has many other stars, including batters like Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal. 

In the wicketkeeper slot, Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel have been selected for the Rest of India. 

Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Khaleel Ahmed, etc. have been named as the pacers of the team. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has been named along with the off-spinner Saransh Jain.

As Dhruv Jurel and Yash Dayal are also in the Indian squad for the second or last Test against Bangladesh at Kanpur, which will begin on September 27, they are required to be released from the Test squad to participate in the Irani Cup. 

The Rest of India have won all the last three Irani Cups, while the last time they lost the Irani Cup against Mumbai was in 1997/98.

Only one common name from the last Rest of India squad for the 2023/24 season

The Rest of India beat Saurashtra by 175 runs in the last Irani Cup. Hanuma Vihari was the Rest of India's captain in that successful match. In the meantime, only Abhimanyu Easwaran is the common name in the Rest of India squads for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons. 

Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup 2024/25

Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK)*, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal*, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has announced the 16-member Mumbai squad for the Irani Cup 2024/25 on Tuesday (September 24). The former Indian Test vice-captain has been selected as the captain of the Mumbai team. 

Like most of the previous years, the reigning Ranji Trophy champions will start the first-class cricket season with the Irani Cup, where they will face the Rest of India. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host this match from October 1. Last season, Mumbai extended their most Ranji Trophy titles record by winning it 42nd time. 

SEE ALSO: Sahil Parakh shines as India U19 clinches dominant ODI series win over Australia

Mumbai previously won the Irani Cup in 1997/98

It will be the first time for Mumbai to compete in the Irani Cup since 2016/17. The last time they played the Irani Cup was in the 2015/16 season, where they lost by four wickets. 

The Rest of India have won the Irani Cup for record times, 30 times. They have won all the last three Irani Cups. Meanwhile, out of participating 29 times, Mumbai have recorded 14 Irani Cup successes, the second most successful team in the Irani Cup history. 

The last time Mumbai won the Irani Cup was in the 1997/98 season. Under the leadership of Sanjay Manjrekar, Mumbai won that match by 53 runs. 

Ajinkya Rahane will lead Mumbai in the Irani Cup 

Former Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who led the Indian team in 11 international matches (six Tests, three ODIs, and two T20Is), will lead the Mumbai team in the upcoming Irani Cup. 

Prithvi Shaw, Musheer Khan, Shreyas Iyer, and Shardul Thakur have been named in the 16-member Mumbai squad. 

The Irani Cup 2024/25 will start on the last scheduled day of the Kanpur Test. So, the players in the Indian team squad are unable to participate in the Irani Cup. However, if Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube are released from the Indian Test team, they can join the Mumbai team for the Irani Cup.  

According to the latest BCCI report, Sarfaraz Khan has been released from the Indian squad to be available for Mumbai in the Irani Cup.            

Meanwhile, the MCA also announced the 25-member probable Mumbai squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy 2024/25. 

Mumbai squad for the Irani Cup 2024/25

Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhessh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (WK), Sidhaant Addhatrao (WK), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohd. Juned Khan, Royston Dias

Probable Mumbai squad for the Ranji Trophy 2024/25

Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Siddhessh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (WK), Sidhaant Addhatrao (WK), Shardul Thakur, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Mohit Avasthi, Mohd. Juned Khan, Royston Dias, Harsh Tanna, Prasad Pawar (wk), Shashank Attarde, Karsh Kothari, Atharva Ankolekar, Jay Bista, Saksham Jha