New Delhi [India], September 24 : Ishan Kishan has been included in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup, which will be played from October 1 to 5 in Lucknow.
Kishan is one of the two wicketkeepers featuring in the squad alongside Dhruv Jurel. However, Jurel's availability depends on his selection of the playing XI for India's second Test squad against Bangladesh, beginning on Friday in Kanpur.
Recently, Kishan announced his return to first-class cricket by slamming a counterattacking century for India C against India B on day 1 of the second round of matches in the Duleep Trophy.
The game marked Kishan's first red-ball match since his Test debut in the Caribbean in July 2023. On his return, Kishan dazzled around the crease and dominated India B's bowling line-up, featuring Navdeep Saini, Rahul Chahar, and Mukesh Kumar.
Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who is also a part of the second Test squad, has been picked for the Rest of India squad.
Sarfaraz Khan, who has also been retained in the Team India squad for the 2nd Test, "will be released to represent the Mumbai team subject to him not being involved in the second Test match against Bangladesh," BCCI said in a statement.
The Rest of India will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, with Abhimanyu Easwaran acting as his deputy. It was under Gaikwad's captaincy that India won the gold medal in the Asian Games 2023.
Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ishan Kishan will provide batting depth. The pace-bowling setup includes established India pacers Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Khaleel Ahmed. Manav Suthar and Rahul Chahar form an impressive spin department.
Last year's Ranji Trophy champion, Mumbai, will be led by Ajinkya Rahane. Prithvi Shaw, Musheer Khan and Shreyas Iyer make up an imposing batting line-up. Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotia, and Shams Mulani are some of the leading names in Mumbai's bowling setup.
Squads for the Irani Cup:
Rest of India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-captain), B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk)*, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal*, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar.
Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan*, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohammad Juned Khan, Royston Dias.