Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26: India's swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been appointed captain of Jharkhand for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite (VHT) 2025/26, as announced by the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA).

The 50-over tournament kicks off on December 24, with Jharkhand facing Karnataka in their opening match in Ahmedabad.

The squad revealed for the season features a mix of seasoned campaigners and youth, including Kumar Kushagra, Anukul Roy, Robin Minz, Abhinav Sharan, and Virat Singh, as Jharkhand look to build on their recent success in white-ball cricket.

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Kishan's designation follows a dazzling Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26 season, where he guided Jharkhand to their maiden SMAT title. The wicketkeeper-batter was in excellent form throughout the tournament, accumulating 517 runs from 10 innings at an average of 57.44, with two hundreds and two half-centuries to his name. 

His illustrative moment came in the final against Haryana, where he smashed a commanding 101 to steer his side to the championship. That run of performances has also gained Kishan a recall to the Indian squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

He has been retained as the team's second-choice wicketkeeper-batter, behind Sanju Samson, marking a return to the national setup on the back of sustained domestic superiority.

"He bats at the top in white-ball cricket. He's been in good form. He's played before for India. He has a double hundred in one-day cricket. He wasn't in the Indian team because there's a Rishabh Pant and a Dhruv Jurel ahead. They're two pretty good players," Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar told the media during the press conference to announce the Indian squad for the Men's T20 World Cup.

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Jharkhand Squad For Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26: Ishan Kishan (WK & captain), Virat Singh, Utkarsh Singh, Kumar Kushagra (WK & vice-captain), Robin Minz, Anukul Roy, Sharandeep Singh, Shikhar Mohan, Pankaj Kumar (WK), Bala Krishna, Md Kounain Quraishi, Shubh Sharma, Amit Kumar, Manishi, Abhinav Sharan, Sushant Mishra, Vikash Singh, Saurabh Shekhar, Rajandeep Singh, Shubham Singh.