The Duleep Trophy, a key fixture in Indian domestic cricket, is approaching its semifinals, which are set to begin on September 4th. One team, however, faces a significant hurdle before the crucial matches: their captain will not be participating in the tournament. This player has been selected to join the Indian team for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, making him unavailable for the Duleep Trophy. A new captain has been appointed.
Tilak Varma, a notable batsman for Team India, has been withdrawn from the Duleep Trophy. Mohammad Azharuddeen, a batsman from Kerala, has been named the new captain for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinals. Varma’s selection to the Indian team for the upcoming Asia Cup has rendered him unable to participate in the Duleep Trophy. The semifinal will be held at the BCCI Center of Excellence and will see South Zone competing against North Zone, starting September 4th.
Azharuddeen, who previously held the position of vice-captain for South Zone, will now lead the team. N. Jagadeesan of Tamil Nadu will take over the vice-captaincy duties. South Zone also faces another setback: R. Sai Kishore, a left-arm spinner from Tamil Nadu, is out of the semifinals due to injury. Sai Kishore was also unable to play in the recent Buchi Babu Trophy because his hand injury has not fully healed.
South Zone has bolstered its squad with the inclusion of two new players. Ankit Sharma, a left-arm spinner from Puducherry, and Sheikh Rasheed, a young batsman from Andhra Pradesh, have been promoted from the standby list to the main team. Rasheed was also recently picked up by Chennai Super Kings for the IPL 2025.
South Zone’s New Squad: Mohammad Azharuddeen (Captain), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, Tripura Vijay, Tanay Tyagarajan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Nidhish MD, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar, Ankit Sharma, Sheikh Rasheed.
Standby Players: Mohit Redkar, R. Samaran, Aiden Apple Tom, Andre Siddharth.