Rest of India Squad for Irani Cup 2025 announced; Ruturaj Gaikwad deliberately made Rajat Patidar's deputy

Rajat Patidar has been named the Rest of India team for the upcoming Irani Cup clash against Vidarbha. The Senior Men’s Selection Committee, on Thursday (September 25), announced the squad as well as the India A squad for the three-match one-day series against Australia A.

Irani Cup match between the reigning Ranji Trophy champions and Rest of India is scheduled to be played from October 1 in Nagpur.

The squad features several big names apart from Patidar. The likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Khaleel Ahmed, and Akash Deep will also feature for the team.

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No Shreyas Iyer in the Rest of India squad

Senior India batsman Shreyas Iyer was expected to lead the Rest of India team in the Irani Cup.

However, the right-handed batsman has not been named in the squad after he requested the BCCI for a break from red-ball cricket. The Mumbai star decided to pause his red-ball career in order to reset his fitness regime.

He was recently named as India A captain for the two four-day matches against Australia A.

Rajat Patidar named captain

While Iyer played in the first match, he withdrew from the second due to discomfort in his back. He had felt the discomfort first during the Duleep Trophy earlier this month.

With Iyer out, Patidar has been allowed to make an impression as a captain. The right-handed batsman made a big impact as a captain earlier this year when he led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first IPL title.

He will be looking to reclaim the Irani Cup for the Rest of India after they suffered a loss against Mumbai last year.

Rest of India squad for Irani Cup 2025: Rajat Patidar (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Aryan Juyal (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yash Dhull, Shaikh Rasheed, Ishan Kishan (WK), Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Saransh Jain

Akshay Wadkar to lead Vidarbha

Akshay Wadkar will be leading Vidarbha in the Irani Cup. Vidarbha are eyeing their third Irani Cup triumph after winning the trophy in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

While Wadkar has been named the captain, Yash Rathod has been appointed as his deputy for the upcoming match. Rathod was the highest run-scorer in the last Ranji season, scoring 960 runs in 18 innings.

Vidarbha squad for Irani Cup 2025: Akshay Wadkar (c & wk), Yash Rathod (vc), Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Danish Malewar, Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade, Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande, Aditya Thakare, Akshay Karnewar, Yash Kadam, Shivam Deshmukh (WK), Praful Hinge, Dhruv Shorey.

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