The Duleep Trophy, a major domestic cricket tournament in India, is currently in progress, with the semifinals scheduled to begin on September 4th. One team has been dealt a significant blow before these crucial matches: their captain will be unavailable. The player has been selected for the Indian team for the Asia Cup 2025, and as a result, he will not be able to participate in the Duleep Trophy. A new captain has been named.
Tilak Varma, a prominent batsman for Team India, will not be participating in the Duleep Trophy. Mohammad Azharuddeen, a batsman from Kerala, has been appointed as the new captain of South Zone for the Duleep Trophy semifinals. Varma’s selection for the upcoming Asia Cup means he is unavailable for the Duleep Trophy. The semifinal match will take place at the BCCI Center of Excellence starting on September 4th, with South Zone playing against North Zone.
Azharuddeen, who was previously the vice-captain of South Zone, will now lead the team. N. Jagadeesan of Tamil Nadu will take on the role of vice-captain. South Zone has also suffered another setback as R. Sai Kishore, a left-arm spinner from Tamil Nadu, has been ruled out of the semifinals due to injury. Sai Kishore was also unable to play in the recent Buchi Babu Trophy because of his ongoing hand injury.
South Zone has added two new players to its team. Ankit Sharma, a left-arm spinner from Puducherry, and Sheikh Rasheed, a young batsman from Andhra Pradesh, have been brought into the main team from the standby list. Rasheed was also recently signed 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.