Key Points

Kishan was out of contention as a replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant ahead of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval due to a left ankle injury that required stitches after falling off a bike. As a result, Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan was flown in as Pant’s replacement.

Though Kishan has been at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, it is understood that he has been advised more rest, keeping in mind that India ‘A’ are also due to host Australia ‘A’ for two four-day games and three 50-over games next month.

In Kishan’s absence, Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, who didn’t get a game on India’s five-match Test tour of England, will captain East Zone while all-rounder Riyan Parag will serve as the side’s vice-captain.

Odisha’s Aashirwad Swain comes in as Kishan’s replacement in the squad, while Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra will become the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter. East Zone will also be without the services of Akash, who has been advised to rest.

IANS understands that the exact nature of Akash’s injury remains a mystery. However, a source claimed he is dealing with a back-related issue and has been subsequently advised to rest. Akash had missed the fourth Test against in Manchester due to a groin niggle.

In all, he claimed 13 wickets in three matches on the England tour, including a match-winning 10-wicket haul in Birmingham. Assam’s Mukhtar Hussain has been drafted into the East Zone squad as Akash’s replacement.

East Zone will open their campaign against the Shubman Gill-led North Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal starting on August 28 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds in Bengaluru.

East Zone squad for Duleep Trophy quarterfinal:

Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Aashirwad Swain (wk), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Riyan Parag (vc), Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mukhtar Hussain, Mohammed Shami.

- IANS