Duleep Trophy 2025: Tilak Varma to lead South Zone

Team India and Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma has been named the captain of South Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy tournament. The tournament is scheduled to take place at the BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds in Bengaluru from August 28.

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On July 27, Tilak was announced as captain. The southpaw has already played 25 T20Is and four ODIs for the country. However, in 21 first-class matches, he has 1519 runs to his name so far, at an average of 54.25. Recently, he enjoyed an impressive stint with Hampshire in county cricket, scoring 100, 56, 47, and 112 in four innings.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Azharuddeen has been named his deputy. Several prominent names like Devdutt Padikkal, R. Sai Kishore, Vyshak Vijaykumar, and Narayan Jagadeesan will also be available for South Zone. Jagadeesan is currently in England as part of the senior India men’s team squad, having been called in as a replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant, who has been ruled out of the final Test at The Oval.

All these players are expected to play key roles in South Zone’s campaign, given their vast domestic experience. Six players have also been named on the stand-by list. Among them, Shaikh Rasheed is a name that fans might keep an eye on, along with R. Smaran, who was Karnataka’s highest run-scorer in last season’s Ranji Trophy with 516 runs. An unknown injury sustained in early March could be the reason he’s been named as a stand-by.

Eighteen-year-old Andre Siddarth is another exciting talent who could turn heads if given an opportunity.

This time, the Duleep Trophy returns to the zonal format with six teams. South Zone and West Zone have been granted direct entry into the semi-finals. North Zone will face East Zone, while Central Zone will take on North-East Zone in the quarterfinals.

South Zone squad 

Tilak Varma (captain), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vice-captain), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, T. Vijay, R. Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, and Snehal Kauthankar.

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Stand-by: Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed.

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