Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed captain of a strong West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, with left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Shams Mulani named as his vice-captain. The squad was announced on Monday following a meeting between the zonal selection committee for the competition to be played from August 23 to September 10 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds in Bengaluru. Gaikwad who is not part of the Indian set-up currently will have a chance to lead the 15 man West Zone squad. Six players have been named in the reserves.

The squad features two wicket-keepers in Harvik Desai and Urvil Patel, both of whom have done well in the domestic circuit. Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw and the duo of Sarfaraz and Musheer Khan have been included. They are joined by Jaymeet Patel and Shivalik Sharma to complete a solid batting department.

The Spin bowling department will be led by vice-captain Mulani, off-spin bowling all-rounder Tanush Kotian, and left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai. The fast-bowling unit features Shardul Thakur, alongside pacers Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chaudhary, and all-rounder Atit Sheth.

The selectors have also named a six-member standby list to cover any injury contingencies. The standby players include Jay Gohil, Aarya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jayswal and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.

Prithvi Shaw makes a comeback to Duleep Trophy

Prithvi Shaw was not picked up last season and he moved to Maharashtra from Mumbai after enduring a tough season. For Maharashtra, he finished the Ranji Trophy as the highest run-getter scoring 537 runs in seven matches at an average of 48.81, with one hundred and three fifties. His highest score was 156-ball 222 against Chandigarh, a knock during which he smashed the third fastest double century in the history of the Ranji Trophy.  

West Zone squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Shams Mulani (vice-captain), Harvik Desai (wk), Urvil Patel (wk), Jaymeet Patel, Prithvi Shaw, Shivalik Sharma, Siddharth Desai, Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Atit Sheth, Mukesh Chaudhary, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, and Tushar Deshpande.

Reserve players: Jay Gohil, Aarya Desai, Arshin Kulkarni, Mahesh Pithiya, Vishal Jayswal, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.