The 2026 Duleep Trophy final will be played between East Zone and South Zone in Chennai on Sunday. Ishan Kishan, who attended the pre-match press conference, praised Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Find out what he had to say.

Ishan Kishan on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at PC ahead of Duleep Trophy Final

The Duleep Trophy 2026 final will be played between East Zone and South Zone on Sunday. The title clash will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. At the pre-match press conference, East Zone captain Ishan Kishan praised Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the most talked-about player. He cited the experience of Mohammed Shami, who will be playing his 100th first-class match, as crucial.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi will play in the final of the Duleep Trophy 2026. He is also part of the T20 series against Afghanistan, so there was some uncertainty about his participation. After a review meeting, BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia stated that Gautam Gambhir would make the final decision on his participation.

What did Ishaan say about Vaibhav?

"To be honest, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is a very smart player. He knows what he's doing. He played a crucial role for us in the last game. We are always there to help him if anything happens," Ishan Kishan said at the press conference today.

Vaibhav scored 92 runs in the first innings of the semi-final. He hit seven sixes and as many fours in this 81-ball innings. In the second innings, he played a more sensible innings, scoring 41 runs from 89 balls.

I see hunger and motivation in Shami – Ishaan.

Regarding Mohammed Shami, Ishan said, "He's a legend of the game and has performed brilliantly for India. His hard work and willingness to bowl his own overs in the last match boosted the captain's confidence. He also hit two boundaries." He added with a smile, "I think he's now an all-rounder."

He further said, "It has been three years since the World Cup. I see the same hunger and motivation in him. He wants to make a comeback in the Indian team. When I am captaining, he tells me what can be done."

East Zone Squad

Ishan Kishan (captain and wicketkeeper), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (vice-captain), Shahbaz Ahmed, Abhijit Sarkar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Mohammed Shami, Virat Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Subhranshu Senapati, Anukul Roy, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Shikhar Mohan, Suraj Jaiswal, Danish Das, Kunain Qureshi.

South Zone Squad

Tilak Varma (captain), Tanay Thyagarajan, Shreyas Gopal, Karun Nair, Ricky Bhui (wicketkeeper), MD Nidhish, Mohammed Siraj, Narayan Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Devdutt Padikkal, Aman Hakim Khan, Vidhvath Kaverappa, Smaran Ravichandran, Shaik Rashid, Tripurana Vijay, K Himateja, Abhinav Tejrana, Kavuri Saitijja.