SHARDUL Thakur will lead the West Zone team for Duleep Trophy, the Zonal selection committee decided on Friday. In a star studded line-up which has Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, the selection committee preferred Mumbai’s bowling all-arounder Thakur to lead the side.The reason for not naming Iyer as skipper was that the selection committee felt that he might be picked for the Asia Cup team which is scheduled to play from September 9 onward. The Duleep Trophy is scheduled to kick start from August 28 in Bengaluru.Thakur has been playing a vital role in Mumbai’s Ranji success for the last few years. He has been contributing both with bat and ball. Over the last two seasons, where Mumbai has been bailed out from runs from lower-order, Thakur has had a lead role to play alongside Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani.The two also join Thakur in the West Zone squad that also has place for pacer Tushar Deshpande.Earlier, Iyer had expressed his availability to play in the Duleep Trophy. Iyer has played 14 Tests for India and scored one century to go with five fifties, but he hasn’t played the longest format internationally since February 2024 against England. He was, however, an integral part of the Indian team that lifted the 50-overs Champions Trophy title in Dubai earlier this year.More recently, under Iyer’s captaincy, Punjab Kings entered the final of the Indian Premier League’s 2025 season, where they lost to the Royal Challengers of Bengaluru in Ahmedabad. Iyer wasn’t picked for the Indian Test tour to England that is currently underway, as the selectors decided to go with Karun Nair, who had prolific returns in domestic cricket more recently.The 2025–26 domestic season will begin with the Duleep Trophy (August 28, 2025) and conclude with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy (April 3, 2026). The Ranji Trophy season is set to begin from October 15, with Phase 1 going up until 19 November and Phase 2 of the season (Elite) extending from 22 January 2026 to 1 February.Story continues below this adThis season the Duleep Trophy returns to the zonal format. The squads are picked by the state selectors from respective zones. South Zone were the champions when the Duleep Trophy was held in the 2023-24 season.West Zone squad: Shardul Thakur (Capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd