Published: Aug 18, 2025, 03:15 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 18, 2025, 03:15 PM (IST)
Ishan Kishan will sit out East Zone’s season-opening match in the Duleep Trophy as he continues to recover from a minor injury picked up in the UK during his stint with Nottinghamshire. Odisha’s Aashirwad Swain has been drafted in as his replacement.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Kishan needed multiple stitches after falling off an e-bike. Because of this injury, he was not considered as a replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant in the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval. Instead, Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan was brought in as back-up for Dhruv Jurel.
The setback is not serious, but the selectors have decided to rest Kishan as a precaution. He is expected to be in contention for the India A squad, which is scheduled to play two four-day matches at home against Australia next month. For now, he will continue his recovery and undergo a fitness test at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. In his absence, Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra is likely to take the gloves as East Zone’s first-choice wicketkeeper.
East Zone will also miss the services of India pacer Akash Deep, who has been advised rest. The exact nature of his niggle is yet to be confirmed, and his fitness will be assessed later. Akash had recently toured England with the Indian Test team. He missed the fourth Test in Manchester due to a back issue but returned for the decider, where he scored a maiden half-century while batting as nightwatchman. Overall, he finished with 13 wickets in three Tests, including a match-winning 10-wicket haul in Birmingham. Assam’s Mukhtar Hussain has been named as his replacement.
The Abhimanyu Easwaran-led East Zone will open their Duleep Trophy campaign against Shubman Gill’s North Zone in the quarterfinal starting August 28 at the CoE in Bengaluru. Assam allrounder Riyan Parag has been named vice-captain, while the squad also includes India internationals Mohammed Shami — who has played just one first-class game in the last two years — and Mukesh Kumar.
( With ESPNcricinfo Inputs )
