Ruturaj Gaikwad Duleep Trophy 2026: West Zone team for Duleep Trophy 2026 has been announced. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been made the captain and Shams Mulani as the vice-captain.
After the defeat in the ODI series against England, the focus of Indian cricket has now turned to one of the most prestigious tournaments of domestic cricket, Duleep Trophy 2026. On July 20, the West Zone team was announced, in which Ruturaj Gaikwad has been given the responsibility of captaincy. Gaikwad, who has led Chennai Super Kings in IPL, will now face the challenge of showing his captaincy prowess in domestic cricket.
Command in the hands of Ruturaj, Shams Mulani becomes vice-captain
Left arm all-rounder Shams Mulani has been made the vice-captain in the team announced after the Zonal Selection Committee meeting. Duleep Trophy 2026 will be held from 23 August to 10 September. Last season, West Zone was captained by Shardul Thakur and under his leadership the team reached the semi-finals. This time too Shardul is a part of the team, but the responsibility of captaincy has been given to Gaikwad.
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Strong batting including Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz and Musheer, bowling also strong
Many famous players have got a place in the 15-member team of West Zone. The batting department includes names like Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan and Shivalik Sharma. Harvik Desai and Urvil Patel will handle the responsibility of wicketkeeping.
The team looks balanced in bowling also. Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian and Siddharth Desai are present in the spin department, while the fast bowling will be handled by Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande and Mukesh Chaudhary. The presence of all-round options makes the team stronger.
West Zone’s full squad for Duleep Trophy 2026
Main squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shams Mulani (vice-captain), Harvik Desai (wicketkeeper), Urvil Patel (wicketkeeper), Jaymeet Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma, Siddharth Desai, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Atit Sheth, Mukesh Chaudhary, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande.
Reserve players: Jai Gohil, Arya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jaiswal and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Now all eyes will be on how West Zone performs in the Duleep Trophy 2026 under the captaincy of Ruturaj Gaikwad and whether the team is able to go one step ahead from the last season and succeed in winning the title.
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