Ishan Kishan’s return to red-ball cricket continues with his selection in the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup, which will be played in Lucknow from October 1 to 5.
Kishan recently marked his first appearance in first-class cricket since July 2023 – a period marked by the loss of his mid-term BCCI contract – with a century for India C in the Duleep Trophy.
Kishan is one of two wicketkeepers in the squad, with Dhruv Jurel also selected under India’s XI for their second Test against Bangladesh, to be played in Kanpur from September 27 to October 1.
Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal and middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan, who are also part of the Test squad, have been named in the RoI and Mumbai squads respectively, with the same caveat.
Mohammed Shami is a notable absentee from the RoI squad. Having not played competitive cricket since last year’s 50-over World Cup, Shami was in contention to feature in at least one Duleep Trophy match to prove his fitness. Now it seems that his return will be delayed, and he is not part of the RoI team.
Shami is determined to spend more time in rehab as he works his way back from ankle surgery. The Indian fast bowler is set to return to the rigors of top-flight cricket in the Ranji Trophy from October 11. He has been named in Bengal’s list of possibilities for the season.
Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan, however, have recently embraced opportunities in the middle. Padikkal batted at number 4 in the first Test against England earlier this year in Dharamsala.
Andhra’s Ricky Bhui and Baroda’s Shashwat Rawat were awarded the Duleep Trophy for their form. Bhui led the way with 359 runs at an average of 71.80, with two half-centuries, while Rawat scored 124 and 53 in his latest India A outing.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead a strong Mumbai team that includes Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz. Rahane is coming off a solid diet of red ball cricket for Leicestershire in the County Championship. There is also the return of India all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who is fit again following foot surgery in June.
Thakur, who suffered an injury during India’s tour of South Africa late last year, has not played professional cricket since the 2024 IPL. As he travels to Australia, he will be hoping to return to contention. He last played for India. in the first Test at Centurion in the South African series., before returning to play in Mumbai during the Ranji series.
The match was originally scheduled to be held in Mumbai, but was moved from the city due to possible weather-related disruption due to cyclones.
All India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-capt), B 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.
in Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan*, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohammad Juned Khan, Royston Dias.
*He was selected for the Irani Cup under selection in India’s XI for the Kanpur Test
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