Rishabh Pant to Captain Rest of India in Irani Cup
Rishabh Pant will return to red-ball leadership duties as captain of Rest of India in the Irani Cup, taking charge against newly crowned Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar from October 1-5.
Left out of India’s ODI squad for the West Indies series, Pant now finds himself at the centre of a different stage: the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, where domestic supremacy and national selection narratives often collide. This is a statement assignment, not a consolation prize.
Pant at the helm, Sarfaraz in support
Pant leads a Rest of India squad stacked with form players and familiar domestic heavyweights. Sarfaraz Khan, one of the most relentless run-makers in the circuit, has been named vice-captain, underlining his growing stature as both a batter and a dressing-room voice.
The batting group around them carries a solid, workmanlike feel. Sanat Sangwan, Shikhar Mohan and Sudip Gharami bring volume and consistency from the top order, while Smaran Ravichandran and Ayush Doseja arrive as the top two run-scorers from the previous Ranji Trophy campaign. Rest of India sides often blend stars with specialists; this one leans heavily on men who have just finished churning out runs for fun.
Aryan Juyal joins Pant in the wicketkeeping department, offering flexibility in selection and balance. With Pant certain to bat in the top or middle order, Juyal gives the think-tank room to manage workloads across five days if required.
Akash Deep’s timely return
With the ball, one name immediately jumps out. Akash Deep, sidelined for a lengthy stretch by a lower-back stress injury, has been picked subject to fitness. The symmetry is striking: his last competitive outing came in February 2026, in a Ranji Trophy match against the very same Jammu & Kashmir side he is now set to face again.
If he clears the fitness test, his inclusion changes the tone of the attack. At his best, Akash Deep brings pace, hostility and long spells — exactly the kind of attributes that can tilt a first-class game over four or five sessions.
Alongside him, Mukesh Kumar and Mukesh Choudhary give the pace unit both experience and variety. Kumar, with his relentless accuracy, and Choudhary, with his left-arm angle, form a strong seam core, while Aryan Pandey adds depth and another option across conditions.
Spin with a Test-match edge
The spin department carries a clear Test flavour. Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain both come into the game fresh from appearances in the Test series against Sri Lanka, and that recent international exposure sharpens their edge. They know what long days in the field feel like, and they know how quickly momentum can swing in multi-day cricket.
Anukul Roy rounds out the spin group, bringing control, lower-order runs and the kind of all-round utility that often proves decisive in Irani Cup contests, where one session can flip an entire match.
A stage set in Srinagar
For Jammu & Kashmir, this is a reward for their Ranji Trophy triumph and a chance to test themselves against a composite side built from the best of the rest. For Pant, Sarfaraz and several others, it is something else as well: a high-stakes audition at the start of a new domestic season.
Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium will host not just an Irani Cup fixture, but a clash of trajectories — a champion team defending its crown against a squad full of players chasing the next step in their careers.
Rest of India squad: Rishabh Pant (C, WK), Sanat Sangwan, Shikhar Mohan, Sudip Gharami, Sarfaraz Khan (VC), Smaran Ravichandran, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Akash Deep*, Mukesh Kumar, Mukesh Choudhary, Aryan Juyal (WK), Aryan Pandey, Anukul Roy, Ayush Doseja.
