Ruturaj Gaikwad named West Zone captain for Duleep Trophy 2026; Shams Mulani to be vice-captain

Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named captain of a formidable West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru, with Shams Mulani as vice-captain. The star-studded team features Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, and Shardul Thakur

New Delhi: India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed captain of a star-studded West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, with seasoned left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Shams Mulani named as his vice-captain.

The squad was announced on Monday following a meeting between the zonal selection committee for the competition to be played from August 23 to September 10 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds in Bengaluru.

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Last year, India’s seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur led West Zone, who reached semi-finals of the competition, but didn’t go to final as Central Zone grabbed the first-innings lead. Now, for the upcoming competition, the captaincy baton has gone from Thakur to Gaikwad, who also leads Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL and was recently in India ‘A’ squad for 50-over tri-series and red-ball games against Sri Lanka ‘A’.

The team features two specialist wicket-keepers in Harvik Desai and Urvil Patel, ensuring strong options behind the stumps. Apart from Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw and the prolific Khan brothers – Sarfaraz and Musheer – have been included. They are joined by Jaymeet Patel and Shivalik Sharma to complete a solid batting department.

Spin bowling duties will be spearheaded by vice-captain Mulani, off-spin bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian, and left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai. The fast-bowling department features Thakur, alongside speedsters Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chaudhary, and all-rounder Atit Sheth.

The selectors have also named a six-member standby list to cover any injury contingencies. The standby players include Jay Gohil, Aarya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jayswal and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.

West Zone squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shams Mulani (vice-captain), Harvik Desai (wk), Urvil Patel (wk), Jaymeet Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma, Siddharth Desai, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Atit Seth, Mukesh Chaudhary, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, and Tushar Deshpande.

Reserve players: Jay Gohil, Aarya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jayswal, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.