Ishan Kishan’s return to red-ball cricket received a major shot in the arm after he was picked in the Rest of India (RoI) squad led by Ruturaj Gaikwad for the Irani Cup contest against Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai, starting October 1 in Lucknow.

Returning to first class cricket for the first time since July 2023, and the subsequent loss of his BCCI central contract, Kishan made a statement, scoring a century for India C in the Duleep Trophy.

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Kishan is one of two wicketkeepers in the squad, alongside Dhruv Jurel, whose selection in the RoI squad is subject to his non-participation in India’s second Test against Bangladesh, starting September 27 in Kanpur.

Besides Jurel, left-arm quick Yash Dayal and middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, who are also part of the Test squad, have been picked in the RoI and Mumbai squads respectively, with the same caveat.

Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran, who ended as the second-highest run scorer in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy was named Gaikwad’s deputy in the RoI side, that features another two opening prospects in Devdutt Padikkal and B Sai Sudharsan.

Andhra’s Ricky Bhui and Baroda’s Shashwat Rawat have also been included in the RoI squad based on their impressive Duleep Trophy form. Bhui top scored with 359 runs at an average of 71.80, with two hundreds and a half-century, while Rawat slammed 124 and 53 in his most recent outing for India A.

The RoI bowling attack boasts of a formidable unit led by Prasidh Krishna, who recently made comeback from a quadriceps injury in the Duleep Trophy, alongside Mukesh Kumar and two left-arm quicks in Dayal and Khaleel Ahmed. The spin attack will be manned by Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain and Rahul Chahar.

On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane has been handed the responsibility of leading a full-strength Mumbai squad that also features the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz. The tournament will also mark the comeback for India allrounder Shardul Thakur after recovering from a foot surgery in June.

For Thakur, who has been out of action since IPL 2024, the Irani Trophy will provide him the best chance to prove his fitness to the selectors ahead of the home Test series against New Zealand, and the all-important Down Under tour for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

The Irani Cup tie was originally to be held in Mumbai, but was later shifted to Lucknow due to the possibility of weather-related interruptions owing to the monsoons in the western city.

Irani Cup squads:

Rest of India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk)*, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal*, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar

Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Prithvi Shaw, Ayush Mhatre, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan*, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore (wk), Sidhaant Addhatrao (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Himanshu Singh, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Avasthi, Mohammad Juned Khan, Royston Dias.