Rishabh Pant captained Rest of India as the Irani Cup got underway against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar on Thursday.

It is the first time Srinagar has hosted the Irani Cup, the traditional season-opening five-day fixture. J&K, the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy champions, face Rest of India from October 1 to 5.

Pant, who was not picked for India’s ODI series against the West Indies, leads the side and keeps wicket. Sarfaraz Khan has been named his deputy.

The squad includes fast bowler Akash Deep, who is returning from a long layoff with a lower-back stress injury. Mukesh Kumar, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain are also in the side, along with domestic batting stars R. Smaran and Ayush Doseja.

For J&K, the tie is another milestone after their maiden Ranji Trophy title in February this year. With several frontline India players away on ODI and Asian Games duty, the fixture gives domestic performers a big stage to press their claims for national selection.