SRH’s ₹11.25 crore buy ruled out of 2025 Duleep Trophy; replacement announced

Indian wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the 2025 Duleep Trophy due to an injury. He was initially named as captain of the East Zone, but was not deemed fit enough to partake in the domestic tournament. Odisha wicket-keeper, Aashirwad Swain, has been named a replacement ahead of the quarter-final clash against North Zone.

Ishan Kishan's last competitive appearance came during his stint with Nottinghamshire in the County Championship. However, he sustained an injury just two matches in, forcing him to be unavailable for Team India when Rishabh Pant fractured his toe during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford. The visitors eventually opted for Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper Narayan Jagadeesan as cover while Dhruv Jurel made it to the playing XI for the series finale.

The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) confirmed 20-year-old Swain's call-up to the East Zone squad due to Ishan Kishan's unavailability.

“Odisha’s wicketkeeper-batter Aashirwad Swain has been selected for the East Zone squad in the Duleep Trophy, replacing Ishan Kishan! He joins Sandeep Pattnaik in the squad, while Swastik Samal has been named as standby." the statement read.

Aashirwad Swain has played 11 first-class matches in his career so far since making his debut in January 2024. He has scored 615 runs at an average of 30.75, which includes three fifties.

Ishan Kishan becomes the second player to withdraw from the East Zone squad after right-arm pacer Akash Deep also pulled out in the aftermath of the recent grueling tour of England.

Opening batter Abhimanyu Easwaran is set to take up the leadership role in Kishan's absence in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. Their opening clash against the North Zone will be held in Bengaluru from August 28 onwards.

East Zone squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Aasirwad Swain (WK), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, and Mohammed Shami

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

Duleep Trophy 2025 to feature several high-profile names to kick-start domestic season

The Duleep Trophy returns to a zonal format for the upcoming season after the 2024 edition witnessed a mixed version. The domestic tournament is also now a knockout affair, with the five matches broken down into two quarter-finals, two semi-finals, and the final.

North Zone and South Zone have earned automatic berths into the final four after being the finalists of the competition the last time it was held in the format. Team India Test skipper Shubman Gill will lead the North Zone, while other players from the main national squad, like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh, are also set to feature.