India’s stellar batsman Tilak Varma has been declared as the captain of the South Zone team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025, kicking off on August 28 in Bengaluru. Tilak joining in as a skipper is after his convincing domestic and overseas performances, including a prolific stint with Hampshire in County cricket, where he scored 315 runs in four innings, decorated with two centuries. However, he was not part of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy due to international commitments.
The 22-year-old Hyderabad left-hander will lead a strong 15-member squad, featuring several in-form players, including Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore, Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal and Vijayakumar Vyshak, and wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan, who recently earned an India call-up for the fifth Test against England following Rishabh Pant’s injury. Tilak’s recent scores were 100, 56, 47, and 112, making him a suitable player to lead South Zone.
Mohammed Azharuddeen will handle the duties for the vice captain after playing a pivotal role in Kerala’s historic journey to their first-ever Ranji Trophy final by scoring a match-winning 177 in the semifinal. Kerala is well represented in the squad, with four players in the lineup- Azharuddeen, Salman Nizar, MD Nidheesh, and Basil NP.
The list of excluded Indian cricketers includes Prasidh Krishna, B Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar, showing they might be considered for inclusion in the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Laxmipati Balaji, a former Indian pacer, will serve as the head coach for the South Zone team.
The Duleep Trophy returns to its traditional zonal format this year after a season of India A, B, C, and D teams. South Zone, comprising players from Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Goa, and Pondicherry, will look to start their 2025-26 domestic season on a strong note.
South Zone Squad for Duleep Trophy 2025:
Tilak Varma (c, Hyderabad), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc, wk, Kerala), Tanmay Agarwal (Hyderabad), Devdutt Padikkal (Karnataka), Mohit Kale (Pondicherry), Salman Nizar (Kerala), Narayan Jagadeesan (wk, Tamil Nadu), Tripurana Vijay (Andhra), R Sai Kishore (Tamil Nadu), Tanay Thyagarajan (Hyderabad), Vijaykumar Vyshak (Karnataka), MD Nidheesh (Kerala), Ricky Bhui (Andhra), Basil NP (Kerala), Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu), Snehal Kauthankar (Goa).
