Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed captain of the West Zone squad for the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy. The 29-year-old batter, who also leads Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, will head the inter-zonal side after serving as vice-captain to Tilak Varma during India A’s tri-series in Sri Lanka last month.
Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani has been named vice-captain of the squad.
The West Zone team features several prominent Mumbai cricketers, including Shardul Thakur, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Tushar Deshpande, and Tanush Kotian.
Prithvi Shaw, who moved from Mumbai to Maharashtra last season, has also been included in the squad. Shaw was first selected for a Duleep Trophy squad in 2017 as a highly-rated 17-year-old, but his career has seen several ups and downs since then. After missing out on last season’s West Zone squad, which was led by Shardul Thakur, Shaw will be eager to use the Duleep Trophy as a platform to revive his domestic career. He has not featured in an IPL match since 2024.
However, 19-year-old Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre was not included in the squad after missing the second half of IPL 2026 due to injury.
Last season, West Zone were knocked out in the semi-finals by Central Zone, who advanced on the basis of a first-innings lead. Central Zone, led by Rajat Patidar, went on to win the tournament.
The 2026-27 Duleep Trophy is scheduled to begin on August 23, with all matches set to be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2026-27
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Shams Mulani (Vice-Captain), 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.
