Md Kounain Quraishi 5th to play in Duleep Trophy before Ranji as Jharkhand youngster First Class Debut with East Zone

Mohammed Kounain Quraishi has entered the record books in a rather unusual manner after making his Duleep Trophy debut for East Zone without having played a single Ranji Trophy match for Jharkhand.

The 23-year-old right-handed batter and off-spinner was drafted into the East Zone XI for their 2026 Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru after Shahbaz Ahmed was ruled out.

More significantly, Quraishi's appearance marks only the fifth instance in Indian first-class cricket history of a player making his Duleep Trophy debut without having previously played a Ranji Trophy match.

Quraishi had not even made his first-class debut before receiving the call-up. His selection was therefore an extraordinary jump from domestic cricket into one of India's premier red-ball competitions. A report from Jharkhand confirmed that he had not played a first-class match before being selected for the East Zone squad.

From Jharkhand cricket to the Duleep Trophy

Quraishi, born on September 29, 2002, is a bowling all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm off-spin. He has represented Jharkhand in domestic limited-overs cricket.

His inclusion came as a surprise because the normal route for an Indian domestic cricketer is to establish himself in the Ranji Trophy before earning a zonal selection for the Duleep Trophy. Quraishi instead made the leap directly to the East Zone side.

The opportunity arrived after Shahbaz Ahmed, who had played a crucial role in East Zone's quarter-final victory over North East Zone, was replaced. Shahbaz had scored 167 in that match and also claimed three wickets for 20 runs and one for 53.

Quraishi had a decent outing in the Jharkhand Premier League, where he scored 203 runs at a strike rate of 170 for Jamshedpur Steelers.

The significance of Quraishi's debut lies in the fact that the Duleep Trophy itself is a first-class competition. Therefore, when Quraishi took the field in Bengaluru, he was simultaneously making his first-class debut and Duleep Trophy debut.

He immediately made an impact with the ball. Bowling his off-spin against a strong Central Zone batting line-up, Quraishi returned figures of 2/49, dismissing Harsh Dubey and contributing to Central Zone being bowled out for 266.

Md Kounain Quraishi joins rare club of players

Quraishi's achievement places him in an extremely select group of Indian cricketers who reached the Duleep Trophy before appearing for their state in the Ranji Trophy. Among the most notable examples are Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja.

Chawla made his first-class debut for Central Zone against South Zone in the 2005 Duleep Trophy, with the scorecard explicitly recording it as his first-class debut. He was only 16 at the time.

Jadeja similarly began his first-class career through the zonal system before establishing himself for Saurashtra. Ajinkya Rahane also made his Duleep trophy debut before his Ranji debut.

Another unusual case was former India wicketkeeper Bharath Reddy, who in 1973 played first-class cricket for Vazir Sultan Tobacco Colts XI, then represented Rest of India and South Zone in the Duleep Trophy before eventually making his Ranji Trophy debut for Tamil Nadu.