Akash Deep, Gaikwad, Kishan, Rathod in the spotlight at Irani Cup

Akash Deep, the right-arm quick, was last in action in the Oval Test against England, which finished in early August. After that, he was advised rest to recover from an injury and missed the season-opening Duleep Trophy.

He is one of four quicks in RoI's squad for the Irani Cup and is the most experienced of the lot. He had a good tour of England, where he picked up 13 wickets in three Tests, including a match-winning ten-wicket haul in the Edgbaston Test. The half-century from No. 4 in the final Test in England, which India also won, proved some ability with the bat as well.

Akash Deep wasn't picked in India's squad for the two Tests against West Indies starting on October 2, where the focus is expected to be on spin. However, India are scheduled to play a total of four home Tests this season, and they will be watchful of Jasprit Bumrah's workload during this time.

A noteworthy performance for RoI could put Akash Deep back in the Test XI sooner rather than later. The key, one assumes, is his fitness.

Ishan Kishan was omitted from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players last year, but was included this year. This suggests he's still in the team management's plan, even though he last played a Test - his second - in July 2023. In June, Kishan played two County Championship matches for Nottinghamshire and scored 77 and 87 in his two innings. Like Akash Deep, Kishan was also selected in the East Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy, but missed out owing to a minor injury he suffered during his county stint.

Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan has leapfrogged Kishan in the wicketkeeper-batter's race for the national side - Jagadeesan was named as the back-up to Dhruv Jurel for the Tests against West Indies - so the Irani Cup provides Kishan with a chance to remind the national selectors of his potential in the longest format.

The opening batter was part of India's Test squad in England but, like in the past, a debut eluded Abhimanyu Easwaran. Just before India announced their squad to face West Indies, former India quick Varun Aaron, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo, had said, "India have to give Abhimanyu a chance at some stage". But Abhimanyu was dropped instead, and finds himself one level below again.

And there might not be much space for him to squeeze in anyway for the foreseeable future, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul locked in at the top and B Sai Sudharsan at one drop.

Abhimanyu got two half-centuries in four innings for India A against England Lions in May-June, and scored 44 against Australia A in the first unofficial Test earlier this month. For someone still looking to make the step up, those aren't fantastic numbers, so the Irani Cup is a massive tournament for Abhimanyu who, at 30, might be running out of time.

An elbow injury cut Ruturaj Gaikwad's IPL 2025 short and a "personal issue at home" forced him to pull out of a County deal with Yorkshire. Gaikwad returned to action only earlier this month - and with a bang. Playing for West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final, Gaikwad slammed 184 at a strike rate of 89 after going out to bat at 10 for 2.

Gaikwad had a relatively quiet domestic first-class season in 2024-25, averaging 36.93 in 16 innings across the Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup, Ranji Trophy and India A's tour of Australia. That included six single-digit scores, three of which came against Australia A. Gaikwad's dominant knock to kickstart this domestic season not only confirms that he's in good touch, but will also help him gain confidence for the rest of the season.

Yash Rathod, the 25-year-old Vidarbha batter, has continued his rise through the ranks in domestic cricket. Nineteen of his 21 first-class matches have come since the 2023-24 season, a time during which he has cemented his place in Vidarbha's middle order. Rathod averages 58.83 in this period, and enters the Irani Cup on the back of 374 runs in five innings at 124.67 in the Duleep Trophy. He passed fifty three times in those five innings, and hit a career-best 194 against South Zone in the final.

Rathod said "it was quite disappointing" to miss out on a double hundred, but has his eyes firmly set on what's coming: "I also obviously want to play IPL, but my immediate goal is to prepare myself for Irani Trophy as that is also a big stage. If I perform there, I will get closer to my India A dream. Yes, I want to play for India, but to reach there, India A is my first step."

This domestic season, Rathod will have to take on extra responsibility after Karun Nair switched back to Karnataka. But given his last two seasons, he will back himself to pull it off, as will Vidarbha.

Another of Vidarbha's young batters in good form, Danish Malewar started the season on a high by smashing his maiden first-class double-century against North East Zone in the quarter-final of the Duleep Trophy. He has clocked 1135 runs in 12 matches in first-class cricket, averaging 56.75. Malewar has passed fifty 11 times in 20 innings, which is a sign of his consistency.

Malewar looks up to his senior team-mate Rathod - he believes they have "a similar batting style" - and with 352, even got nearly as many runs as Rathod in the Duleep Trophy. Malewar will turn 22 next week, and given his bright start, looks like a long-term bet for Vidarbha.

The VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, has traditionally had a slow and low surface. Last domestic season, it hosted three first-class games, two of which were drawn. Not even three innings could be completed in either of those two matches, as the pitch seemed to have little help for bowlers.

Vidarbha have packed their 16-member squad for Irani Cup with four spin-bowling options, both frontline and all-round, so expect a spin-friendly pitch from the hosts, who last won the Irani Cup in 2018-19. In the end, though, it could come down to the first-innings lead, so expect both teams to bat long and bat deep.