Ruturaj Gaikwad Trains Hard For Duleep Trophy 2025 With West Zone: See Pic
Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK captain, started practising for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, representing West Zone. He missed IPL 2025 due to injury.
Indian batter and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad started practising on Saturday for the upcoming 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, where he will represent the West Zone team.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Gaikwad's season was cut short by an injury after scoring 122 runs in five matches, averaging 24.40, with two half-centuries. His performance was inconsistent, and his team managed only one win out of five matches during the season.
Ruturaj was in Chennai recently and, along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, launched the former's new padel brand in Palavakkam.
Dhoni had recently said that Gaikwad's return will strengthen Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) batting line-up in the next IPL season, after Gaikwad withdrew mid-way through the previous season due to an elbow injury.
Other notable Indian international players in the West Zone squad include Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and Sarfaraz Khan. Shardul Thakur, named captain, has no previous experience leading in the first-class format but captained Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December 2024, a one-day tournament.
The competition, scheduled from August 28 to September 15, will kick off the Indian domestic season 2025-26. Last year, the tournament shifted from its usual zonal format to having four different Indian squads, A, B, C, and D, selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
International players like Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav participated in the tournament. This year, the tournament will return to its zonal format, with six teams: North, South, East, West, Central, and North East, selected by the Ranji team selectors in each zone.
What Is The West Zone Squad For The Duleep Trophy?
Batters: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Aarya Desai, Manan Hingrajia.
Wicketkeepers: Harvik Desai, Saurabh Nawale.
All-rounders: Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Jaymeet Patel, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.
Bowlers: Shardul Thakur (c), Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
view comments
First Published:
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'Sanju Samson to CSK is bleak. RR don't have...': R Ashwin shatters illusions despite Chennai's desperate US move
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shattered the illusion around the much-speculated blockbuster move of Sanju Samson to the Chennai Super Kings, saying that the chances are bleak and that the Rajasthan Royals are unlikely to get a player as valuable as the India wicketkeeper-batter in return. R Ashwin explained why Sanju Samson-CSK move is unlikely to happen(PTI) Samson reportedly told the Royals that he wants to leave the franchise and asked them to release or trade him. Rajasthan then actively reached out to all the franchises for a possible trade deal. Among all the franchises, Samson has been hotly linked to Chennai after the five-time champions emerged as the first to express interest. According to an Indian Express report, the India star even had a meeting with " the CSK management and head coach Stephen Fleming during the Major League Cricket season in US." The report added that Chennai were keen on signing Samson "through a trade deal via cash." But the deal instantly hit a roadblock. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said a Samson-to-CSK trade would leave RR struggling to get equal value in return. Using Ravi Bishnoi as an example, he explained that if LSG gave up the spinner for Samson, they'd also have to manage the purse to retain Samson — making such deals unrealistic. 'Why the CSK-RR trade won't work is because if Sanju is traded to CSK, and RR then try to trade with other teams, they're unlikely to get valuable players in return. For example, if RR want a spinner like Ravi Bishnoi and approach LSG, the problem is that if LSG acquire Sanju and give away Bishnoi, they also have to manage the remaining purse required to retain Sanju — which becomes LSG's responsibility,' Ashwin said. Ashwin further said that Chennai rarely trade and hence won't part with stars like Ravindra Jadeja or Shivam Dube, making a Samson move unlikely, leaving RR with little to gain from such a swap. 'CSK generally don't believe in trading. They aren't going to trade players like Ravindra Jadeja or Shivam Dube. So, in all likelihood, Sanju coming to CSK is bleak, for the reasons I've explained. RR don't have much to gain from this kind of trade,' he added. According to a report in Cricbuzz on Wednesday, Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale contacted Chennai over the Samson trade deal, seeking Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, or Shivam Dube. However, the five-time champions are unwilling to part with any of them, leaving the high-profile move from Jaipur to Chennai at a stalemate.
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
The Mystery of the Soft Balls Rocking Cricket
For almost four decades, Dilip Jajodia has swelled with pride watching English cricketers gallop up to the pitch to hurl red leather balls made in his tiny London workshop. This year, the 80-year-old ball maker has had the summer from hell. Over five ill-tempered matches in which India's captain accused England of violating the fabled code of ethics known as the 'Spirit of Cricket,' the only thing uniting the sides was railing against Jajodia's product. Their complaint: The balls were going soft, tilting the game in the batting team's favor. 'We've had a bit of a nightmare,' said Jajodia, whose company makes Dukes, English cricket's premier brand of ball for 260 years. Unlike baseball, where dozens of balls are used in a game and tossed aside after minor scuffs, cricket balls endure hours of bashing and buffing. Dilip Jajodia thinks the problem is partly in the bowlers' heads. Bowling (pitching) sides treat the 'cherry' reverentially, shining one side on their trousers to keep it smooth and maximize lateral movement. The trouble with Jajodia's balls began early in the first match, in Yorkshire in June. England's batsmen were swatting deliveries (pitches) as if they were hitting a beachball. Indian wicketkeeper (catcher) Rishabh Pant demanded a replacement for a ball his teammates had tossed about 360 times, well before India were entitled to a new ball, which under rules is after nearly 500 deliveries. Umpire Paul Reiffel pulled a pair of metal hoops from his pocket and pushed the offending orb through, ruling it wasn't sufficiently misshapen for early retirement. Pant threw the ball away, earning a reprimand from cricket's governing body. 'It's a big problem because the ball is getting out of shape,' Pant later said. That wasn't the end of it. Pant is a brand ambassador for one of Jajodia's rivals, Indian manufacturer Sanspareils Greenlands. The British press pounced, insinuating he was trying to handicap Jajodia's expansion into India. Umpires test the balls by pushing them through a pair of metal hoops. The problem for Jajodia: Pant had a powerful ally in England's captain. 'Whenever we have touring teams visiting, there is an issue with the balls going soft,' Ben Stokes said. In cricket, the ball holds near-mystical status. Its high priests are fast bowlers who use the raised seams to pierce batsmen's defenses by getting it to swerve in the air and deviate after bouncing. England, where damp weather, grassy pitches and hand-stitched Dukes balls amplify this movement, is their temple. 'The ball is your weapon,' said Matthew Hoggard, a former England bowler who specialized in curveball deliveries. Though scientists have figured out some of the reasons why the ball swings, its behavior often seems inexplicable. 'That's just part of the mysteries and wonders of swing bowling,' Hoggard said. Jajodia moved from India to England in the 1960s to work in finance. He later set up a mail-order business selling imported balls. It took off after he found a polish that improved their quality. Jajodia bought Dukes in 1987 and applied the polish to its handmade balls. There's no written record of how the Duke family first made cricket balls in the 1760s in Kent, southeast of London. Jajodia likes to think the process has passed down by word-of-mouth. The stitching is now done on the Indian subcontinent before Jajodia and his colleagues apply finishing touches in London, emblazoning 'Duke & Son' in gold foil above the royal stamp of approval the company first received in the 18th century. Around a core of Portuguese cork, staffers sew two leather cups, taking more than an hour to make 80 stitches by hand. For balls destined for elite matches, Jajodia tries to secure leather strips from the back of Aberdeen Angus cattle, where the hide is thickest. Skilled bowlers wield the stitching as a rudder. Like on a baseball, the seam creates turbulence on one side when it slices through the air at an angle. That leads to a pressure differential, which causes swing. This summer, 'jaffas'—unplayable balls that arc and dart—were rare, prompting complaints that Jajodia's balls have lost their vim. Batsmen racked up more runs than in any other five-match series in cricketing history. Retired English bowler and commentator Stuart Broad taunted Jajodia's balls on television. Gesticulating with a Dukes specimen, he said, 'It's soft. I can squeeze that.' Jajodia has gathered balls used in the series and will spend the next few months investigating. Complicating the search, his supply chain stretches from the Scottish Highlands to India, and the balls have been thrashed. What's more, cricket balls are supposed to degrade over a day's play, bringing different skills to the fore. 'Cricket balls, generally, are a vulnerable sort of product,' he said. 'It is a natural raw-material product and no two cows are the same.' Imperfections in the leather, the strength of modern batsmen and a heat wave may have played a part, said Jajodia. He thinks the problem is partly in the bowlers' heads. 'It's human nature. If you're not getting wickets, you've got to find something to do.' No one called to thank him for a good batch after the fourth and fifth matches went without a hitch, he added. As for the result, England and India bashed it out over 25 match days. At the end of the final match, one of the closest ever, an injured England player batted with his left arm in a sling in a failed effort to secure victory. The series ended in a draw. Write to Joe Wallace at The Mystery of the Soft Balls Rocking Cricket
News18
32 minutes ago
- News18
Yuvraj Singh Reacts After Shubman Gill's Record Show In England: 'Lot of Question Marks Over...'
Last Updated: Shubman Gill proved his Test credentials with a memorable tour of England that saw him rack up 754 runs at an average of 75.40. England tour could well prove to be the turning point of Shubman Gill's Test career with the India captain finishing the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as the leading run-getter. Prior to the series Gill's Test averaged was in the 30s with critics questioning his elevation to the Test captaincy citing the underwhelming record. By the end of the tour, Gill had improved it to 41.35 from 37 Tests thanks to 745 runs from 10 innings at an excellent average of 75.4. With the team securing a 2-2 draw in the five-match series, Gill also gave an account of his leadership skills. Former India allrounder Yuvraj Singh, who has been a mentor to Gill, is chuffed to bits at the 25-year-old's 'unbelievable" performance. 'There were a lot of question marks over his (Gill) overseas record,' Yuvraj told ICC. 'The guy became the captain and scored four Test hundreds. It's just unbelievable that when you're given responsibility, how you take it." Gill win India's player-of-the-series award after the conclusion of the fifth Test at The Oval which his side won by six runs. To Yuvraj, the 2-2 scoreline feels like victory. 'So, very proud of them. I certainly feel it's a win for us, although it's a drawn series, because it's a young team. And it's not easy to go and play well in England and prove yourself," he added. The two-time world cup winner was impressed by how the team performed in the absence of two of their stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Both Rohit and Kohli retired from Tests prior to the squad announcement for the England tour. 'I think it's just fantastic because I felt when you have a young team going to England, it's a lot of pressure. You're filling the boots of somebody like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, it's not easy. I think the guys took it head-on," he said. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
