Indian team return hopes over?: Rahane, Pujara left out of Duleep Trophy West Zone squad, Shardul to captain

New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI): Indian batting veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara missed out, while Shardul Thakur will be leading a star-studded West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
The competition, to be held from August 28 to September 15, will mark the start of the Indian domestic season 2025-26. Last year, the tournament shifted from its usual zonal format to having four different Indian squads, A, B, C and D, selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). International names like Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav were among players who took part in the tournament. This year, the tournament will revert to its zonal format, with six teams playing: North, South, East, West, Central and North East, picked by the selectors of the Ranji teams in each zone, as per Wisden.
The omission of Rahane and Pujara, both 37, has perhaps put a full stop to their hopes of a return to the Indian side. The management moved on from the pair following the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final loss against Australia back in 2023. The two players had an indifferent run of form for the preceding two or three years.
In the last Ranji Trophy season, Rahane and Pujara scored 467 runs and 402 runs at an average of 35.9 and 40.2 respectively. Both of them got a century and fifty each.
In 103 Tests for India, Pujara has scored 7,195 runs in 176 innings at an average of 44.36, with 19 centuries and 35 fifties. Rahane has scored 5,077 runs in 85 Tests and 144 innings at an average of 38.46, with 12 centuries and 26 fifties.
Indian international stars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad are part of the squad. Shardul, who has been named the captain, has never led in the first-class format, but captained Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December 2024, a one-day tournament.
West Zone Duleep Trophy squad:
-Batters
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Aarya Desai, Manan Hingrajia
-Wicketkeepers
Harvik Desai, Saurabh Nawale
-All-rounders
Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Jaymeet Patel, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja
-Bowlers
Shardul Thakur (c), Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswalla. (ANI)