Ishan Kishan will sit out East Zone’s season-opening Duleep Trophy fixture as he continues to recover from a minor injury picked up during his county stint with Nottinghamshire. He has been replaced in the squad by Odisha wicketkeeper-batter Aashirwad Swain.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Kishan required multiple stitches after falling off an e-bike in the UK. The incident also ruled him out of contention as Rishabh Pant’s replacement for the fifth Test against England at The Oval, where Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan was instead flown in to back up Dhruv Jurel.
Although the injury is not considered serious, the selectors have taken a precautionary call. Kishan will undergo a fitness assessment at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, where all matches of the tournament are scheduled to be played. In his absence, Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra is likely to be East Zone’s first-choice wicketkeeper.
East Zone will also be without India fast bowler Akash Deep, who has been advised rest. While the specifics of his niggle are not known, his fitness test is slated for a later date. Akash, who returned to the Test XI at The Oval after missing the Manchester game with a back issue, had a productive tour of England, claiming 13 wickets in three Tests, including a match-winning 10-for in Birmingham. He has been replaced by Assam pacer Mukhtar Hussain.
Led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, East Zone open their campaign against Shubman Gill’s North Zone in the quarterfinal starting August 28. Assam allrounder Riyan Parag has been named vice-captain, while the squad also includes senior India internationals Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar.
East Zone squad for Duleep Trophy opener: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Aashirwad Swain (wk), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Riyan Parag (vc), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain, Mohammed Shami.
