Riyan Parag has been named in the 15-member East Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2025, which gets underway from August 28. Meanwhile, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is on the standby list.
Both Riyan Parag and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi represent Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
Established in 1961-62, the Duleep Trophy, named after legendary former Indian cricketer Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji, is India’s premier first-class domestic red-ball cricket tournament, usually contested between zonal teams.
Matches are four-day affairs while the final is played over five days.
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The 23-year-old Riyan Parag was part of the India A (Blues) team, which won the Duleep Trophy 2024. He was the second-highest scorer for his team with 193 runs in three matches and scored a half-century against India C in the final match.
The Assam batter was RR’s second-highest scorer in IPL 2025 behind Yashasvi Jaiswal with 393 runs in 14 games.
He also became the youngest-ever captain for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, stepping in for Sanju Samson during an injury-hit season. At the same time, Parag etched his name in history as the fourth-youngest captain in IPL history.
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just 14, is coming off a sensational breakthrough season in the IPL with the Royals.
He became the youngest player in IPL history at 14 years and 23 days after making his debut against Lucknow Super Giants, and then the youngest centurion in the competition just nine days later, hammering a sensational 35-ball 100 against Gujarat Titans.
That knock also set the record for the fastest IPL century by an Indian and ranks as the second-fastest hundred overall in the tournament, behind only Chris Gayle.
Selected in the Indian U19 team for the recent tour to England, Vaibhav continued right from where he had left off in the IPL.
The teenage prodigy amassed 355 runs to finish as the top scorer in the five-match Youth ODI series against England. He averaged 71.00 and scored at a staggering strike rate of 174.01.
Vaibhav’s century in the fourth match - a blazing 143 - shattered multiple records. It was the fastest century ever scored in U19 men’s ODIs and made him the youngest centurion in the format’s history.
He has also been selected in the Indian U19 squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.
East Zone are scheduled to start their Duleep Trophy 2025 campaign in the quarter-finals against North Zone from August 28.
The Duleep Trophy 2025 final will start from September 11.
Rajasthan Royals’ Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tushar Deshpande have been named in the West Zone squad, which will start their campaign from the semi-finals.
East Zone have won the Duleep Trophy twice in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
East Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2025
East Zone cricket team: Ishan Kishan (captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-captain), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami.
Standby players: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Rahul Singh
