Bengal stars Akash Deep, Abhimanyu Easwaran to miss consecutive Ranji Trophy matches for one India A Test [Exclusive] 

Bengal will miss the services of captain Abhimanyu Easwaran and star pacer Akash Deep for back-to-back matches in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy. The duo will link up with the India A squad for the second four-day game against South Africa A in Bengaluru.

The A sides are scheduled to play two unofficial Tests and three one-day matches, the itinerary coinciding with the multi-format tour between the senior teams. While the series starts on October 30, Easwaran and Akash, along with other Team India regulars, will be available for only the second game starting November 6 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Sources confirmed to Sportskeeda that players joining for the second unofficial Test have been asked to report in Bengaluru on November 2. That means they would miss the third and fourth rounds of the ongoing Ranji season. Bengal won’t have Abhimanyu Easwaran and Akash Deep available for the clashes against Tripura and Railways. Both are away outings from November 1 and 8, respectively. Those selected for the white-ball series as well would miss almost the entirety of the first half of the Ranji Trophy.

The development comes even as head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla, in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda earlier this year, spoke against having proven performers in the India A setup. The former India and KKR all-rounder rued their unavailability for crucial state matches. He’d heave a small sigh of relief that the two league encounters are against relatively weaker teams.

India A squad for the 1st four-day match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagdeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain

India A squad for the 2nd four-day match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

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Shahbaz Ahamad returns from injury, Mukesh Kumar to be sidelined for longer

Mukesh Kumar picked up 12 wickets from as many matches in IPL 2025

In good news for Bengal, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahamad joined the camp today, October 23, after finishing his rehabilitation at CoE. The LSG star didn’t bowl, but had a good hit with the willow on his first day back.

While Shahbaz will definitely play the Tripura match, his participation in the crucial tie against Gujarat from Saturday remains doubtful. Sources in the team management said the chances are 50-50 and the final call will be taken tomorrow. The 30-year-old injured his right shoulder after only two matches of the Bengal Pro T20 League 2025 in June.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Mukesh Kumar’s injury timeline has gone the other way. There’s no update on him, and he’s unlikely to be fit before the fourth round or beyond. Mukesh, who last played for India in July 2024, hurt his hamstring during the first innings of East Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2025 opener against North Zone.

Bengal, though, aren't fretting over it after Mohammad Shami led the hosts to an eight-wicket win over Uttarakhand last week. The veteran pacer was adjudged Player of the Match for impressive figures of seven for 75. In an otherwise easy Group C, Bengal are likely to face stiff challenges from only Gujarat and Haryana.