The West Zone squad for the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy will be led by 29-year-old batter Ruturaj Gaikwad. Gaikwad, who currently captains the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, recently served as deputy to Tilak Varma during an 'A' tri-series held in Sri Lanka. Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani has been appointed as the vice-captain of the inter-zonal group.
The roster features several prominent players from Mumbai, including Shardul Thakur, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Tushar Deshpande, and Tanush Kotian. Notably, Prithvi Shaw has been included in the squad. Shaw, who transitioned from Mumbai to Maharashtra last season, was absent from the previous year's West Zone team led by Thakur. Having not participated in an IPL match since 2024, Shaw aims to use the Duleep Trophy—the traditional season opener—to establish momentum for the domestic campaign. Ayush Mhatre, a 19-year-old Mumbai player who missed the latter half of the 2026 IPL due to injury, was not selected.
The 2026-27 Duleep Trophy is scheduled to commence on August 23, with all matches taking place at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Last year, the tournament was won by the Central Zone, led by Rajat Patidar, who defeated West Zone in the semi-finals via a first-innings lead.
The full West Zone squad consists of Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Shams Mulani (VC), Shardul Thakur, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Tanush Kotian, Harvik Desai (wk), Jaymeet Patel, Urvil Patel, Siddharth Desai, Atit Sheth, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma, and Mukesh Chaudhary.
Shaw was first named in a Duleep Trophy squad in 2017 as a precocious 17-year-old but has since had an up-and-down career.
The 2026/27 Duleep Trophy begins on August 23, with all matches set to be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
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