Veteran Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named the captain of the East Zone team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2023, set to commence on June 28 in Bengaluru. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem has been appointed Easwaran’s deputy for the tournament. However, star wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has decided to opt out of the domestic tournament due to a series in the West Indies scheduled within a month.
The East Zone selectors were taken aback when they learned of Kishan’s unavailability for the first-class tournament, which coincides with the two-Test series against the West Indies starting on July 12. Considering Kishan’s presence in the India squad for the World Test Championship final and wicketkeeper KS Bharat playing for the South Zone, the selectors approached convenor Debasish Chakraborty to inquire about the possibility of selecting Kishan.
One of the East Zone selection committee members stated, “As he is a senior India regular in the white-ball format, he would have been the captain. Chakraborty spoke to Ishan over the phone and informed us that he is not interested in playing in the Duleep Trophy. We were not informed about any injury, just that he doesn’t want to play.”
According to the report, once Kishan decided, Tripura selector Jayanta Dey expressed interest in selecting Wriddhiman Saha. However, Saha declined the opportunity, stating that the Duleep Trophy is meant for India hopefuls, and he didn’t want to prevent a youngster from making a case for themselves. As a result, Abhishek Porel was chosen as the third-choice wicketkeeper for the East Zone squad.
In addition to the captain Easwaran and vice-captain Nadeem, Assam all-rounder Riyan Parag has been included in the 15-member squad. Despite a relatively underwhelming season with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023, the 21-year-old has earned a spot in the East Zone team. Other notable additions to the squad include wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel and all-rounders Shahbaz Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar. Promising Bengal pacer Ishan Porel and spinner Anukul Roy have also been included in the squad for the first-class tournament.
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As the Duleep Trophy approaches, all eyes will be on Abhimanyu Easwaran and his East Zone team as they vie for success in the prestigious domestic tournament.
Full Squad: A Easwaran (c), Santanu Mishra, Sudip Gharami, Riyan Parag, A. Majumdar, Bipin Saurabh, Abhishek Porel (wk), K Kushagra (wk), Shahbaz Nadeem (vc), Shahbaz Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Anukul Roy, M Mura Singh, Ishan Porel.
