Ruturaj Gaikwad West Zone Captain: Team India suffered a defeat in the ODI series against England. Ruturaj Gaikwad was subsequently appointed the new captain.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Team India recently suffered a 1-2 defeat in the three-match ODI series against England. The very next day, on Monday, July 20th, the West Zone squad for the upcoming 2026 Duleep Trophy was announced. Indian batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad was appointed captain of the West Zone team, while left-arm all-rounder Shams Mulani was named vice-captain.

The team was announced following a meeting of the Zonal Selection Committee. The tournament will be played between August 23 and September 10. Last year, India's fast bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur led the West Zone team. The team, captained by Shardul, reached the semi-finals. He is also part of the squad this time.

Gaikwad captains the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. It will be interesting to see how the team performs under Gaikwad's captaincy. Six players have also been selected as reserves.

Star-studded team

Several star players have been included in the team. Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Mushir Khan, and Urvil Patel have been included in the 15-member squad. Harvik Desai has also been included as the wicketkeeper.

In the bowling department, vice-captain Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, and Siddharth Desai will be the spinners. The fast bowlers include stars like Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshmukh Pandey. Fast bowler Mukesh Choudhary is also part of the team.

West Zone Squad for Duleep Trophy 2026

Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shams Mulani (vice-captain), Harvik Desai (wicketkeeper), Urvil Patel (wicketkeeper), Jaymeet Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma, Siddharth Desai, Sarfaraz Khan, Mushir Khan, Atit Sheth, Mukesh Choudhary, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande.

Reserve Players: Jay Gohil, Arya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jaiswal and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.