Due to their individual injuries, India’s bowler Akash Deep and East Zone captain and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will not play in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal match against North Zone.
The BCCI’s Centre of Excellence grounds in Bengaluru will host the season-opening Duleep Trophy matches starting on August 28. However, Akash has not yet entirely recovered from a back injury that kept him out of two Test matches during the previous tour to England.
Mukhtar Hussain of Bihar has taken the 28-year-old’s place in the East Zone team.
Following medical advice, Bengal bowler Akash, who took 13 wickets in an excellent series against England, including a 10-wicket match-haul at Birmingham and his first Test half-century in the fifth Test at the Oval, has notified the zonal selection committee that he is not available.
He is presently undergoing rehabilitation at the CoE and is probably going to make a comeback starting on October 2 during the home Test series against the West Indies.
Kishan is recuperating from a hand injury in the meantime.
“Ishan has a few stitches on his hand after falling off an e-bike and he is currently recovering at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru,” a source close to Kishan told PTI.
“It’s not serious, but as a precaution he has been advised to rest. He is expected to be fit for the India A squad for the two four-day fixtures at home against Australia next month.”
In Ishan Kishan’s absence, Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran — who was part of India’s five-Test tour of England — has been appointed East Zone captain, with Assam all-rounder Riyan Parag named his deputy.
Even though Kumar Kushagra of Jharkhand is probably going to be the first-choice wicketkeeper, Kishan has been replaced in the team by Aashirwad Swain of Odisha.
Prior to the fifth and final Test match against England at The Oval, Kishan was considered as a possible substitute for the injured Rishabh Pant. However, he was unable to play due to several stitches from his e-bike accident, and N Jagadeesan of Tamil Nadu was subsequently called up as Pant’s backup.
In addition, renowned Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, who has only played in one first-class match in the last two years, will return for the Duleep Trophy alongside pacer Mukesh Kumar.
Revised East Zone squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Riyan Parag (vice-captain), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Aashirwad Swain (wicketkeeper), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain, Mohammed Shami
