Ishan Kishan, an Indian wicketkeeper, will not be participating in the 2025 Duleep Trophy because of an injury. Despite being named East Zone captain at first, he was not considered fit to compete in the domestic tournament. The replacement for Odisha wicketkeeper Aashirwad Swain has been announced in advance of the quarterfinal matchup with North Zone.
Ishan Kishan has last played any competitive game when he played in the County Championship with Nottinghamshire. But he got injured after just a couple of matches, and he became unavailable to Team India in an incident where, during the fourth Test against England at old Trafford, Rishab Pant broken his toe. The tourists finally went to cover Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper Narayan Jagadeesan and Dhruv Jurel got in the playing XI in the final match of the series.
Because Ishan Kishan was unavailable, 20-year-old Swain was called up to the East Zone side, according to the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA).
“Odisha’s wicketkeeper-batter Aashirwad Swain has been selected for the East Zone squad in the Duleep Trophy, replacing Ishan Kishan! He joins Sandeep Pattnaik in the squad, while Swastik Samal has been named as standby.” the statement read.
Since making his debut in January 2024, Aashirwad Swain has participated in 11 first-class games. At an average of 30.75, he has amassed 615 runs, including three fifties.
Right-arm pacer Akash Deep also left the East Zone team during the recent exhausting tour of England, making Ishan Kishan the second player to do so.
In the 2025 Duleep Trophy, opening batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran is expected to assume the leadership position in Kishan’s absence. Beginning on August 28, they will play their first match against the North Zone in Bengaluru.
Domestic Season Kick-Starts With Duleep Trophy 2025 Featuring Big Names
The Duleep Trophy will be played in a zonal format for the upcoming season, following a mixed version in 2024. With the five matches divided into two quarterfinals, two semi-finals, and the final, the domestic tournament is now also a knockout event.
North Zone and South Zone have won automatic berths into the final four after finishing as finalists the last time the competition was contested in this format. The North Zone will be led by Shubman Gill, the Test captain of Team India, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh among the other members of the main national team expected to compete.
