Rishabh Pant has been omitted from India’s 15-player ODI squad for the three-match series against the West Indies, though he will resume playing as captain of the Rest of India team in the Irani Cup. Pant will captain the team against the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy champions, Jammu & Kashmir, with Sarfaraz Khan serving as his vice-captain.
The match holds extra importance because it is the first time Srinagar has hosted the Irani Cup, marking a historic moment for cricket in the region. The squad’s makeup has been influenced by an overcrowded international schedule. The India versus West Indies ODI series kicks off on September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, with the Asian Games cricket tournament starting the next day, September 28, making several key Indian players unavailable for the Irani Cup.
India kept Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the ODI squad for the West Indies series, leaving Pant out. Ravindra Jadeja was brought back, while Jammu & Kashmir pace bowler Auqib Nabi and Punjab all-rounder Naman Dhir received their first ODI selections. Pant will captain a Rest of India team that includes several of last season’s top performers from the Ranji Trophy.
R Smaran, with 950 runs, and Ayush Doseja, with 949, were the top two run-scorers in the tournament and have been selected for the 15-member squad. Sanat Sangwan and Sudip Kumar Gharami, who also ranked among the top four run-scorers, have been selected
The Irani Cup 2026-27 kicks off just four days after the first ODI against West Indies and three days after the Asian Games cricket tournament begins. Players chosen for either of those assignments will not be available when the Srinagar match begins on October 1. This has led selectors to favour domestic players who are not part of the national team for those simultaneous events.
The Irani Cup extends until October 5, so there’s no clash at the end of the match; however, its early days directly overlap with international fixtures. The outcome is a team that combines seasoned local talents with athletes striving for greater visibility at the top tier.
Full squad for the Irani Cup 2026-27 excluding Rest of India:
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
