The Duleep Trophy final presents an important opportunity for several Indian cricketers. The match will be played between East Zone and South Zone in Chennai. It begins on Sunday. Rising stars like Devdutt Padikkal and Tilak Varma will be eager to showcase their red-ball skills. Experienced campaigners Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami will also be looking to make an impact. National selectors will be watching the performances closely.
Padikkal made the most of his chance in the recent Test series against Sri Lanka. He replaced an injured Sai Sudharsan. He scored two hundreds in two Tests and won the Player of the Series award. He will now hope to replicate that form for South Zone in the final. A strong performance would help his team regain the title.
Tilak Varma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are not currently in the red-ball scheme for the national team. However, both have made strong cases for themselves. Tilak, who is India’s T20 vice-captain, scored an unbeaten hundred and a fifty in the semi-final against North Zone. He has openly expressed his desire to play Test cricket. Sooryavanshi scored 92 and 40 in the semi-final against Central Zone. His performance showed that his game has more depth beyond just hitting sixes in white-ball cricket.
Siraj needs to regain his rhythm ahead of the upcoming tour to New Zealand. He looked off-colour in the two-match series against Sri Lanka. He barely crossed 135 kmph in any of the four innings he bowled. His lack of pace was a concern. Captain Shubman Gill had highlighted the need for Siraj to regain his form. Siraj might replace injured pacer Vidwath Kaverappa in the South Zone line-up.
Ishan Kishan will lead East Zone in the final. He will be looking for valuable game time before joining the India squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan next week. KL Rahul is also expected to play in the final. He will be looking for another round of red-ball cricket before intensifying his preparations for the New Zealand tour. However, Rahul had not yet joined the South Zone squad 24 hours before the match.
Mohammed Shami will be a notable presence in the East Zone attack. He will be appearing in his 100th first-class match. Shami has 903 wickets across first-class, List A, and T20 matches. However, he is not currently on the radar of national selectors. His last match for India was the Champions Trophy final in March 2025. An impactful performance in the Duleep Trophy could give him a chance.
The South Zone squad is led by Tilak Varma. Ricky Bhui is the vice-captain and wicketkeeper. The squad includes SK Rasheed, K Sai Teja, T Vijay, Abhinav Tejrana, K Himateja, T Thyagarajan, R Smaran, Karun Nair, Shreyas Gopal, Vidwath Kaverappa, MD Nidheesh, N Jagadeesan, Aman Khan, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, and Mohammed Siraj.
The East Zone squad is led by Ishan Kishan, who is also the wicketkeeper. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the vice-captain. The squad includes Denish Das, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohd. Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Kumar Kushagra, Shikhar Mohan, Anukul Roy, Virat Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, and Abhijit Sarkar.
Duleep Trophy Final: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Devdutt Padikkal and India A Selection in Focus
The Duleep Trophy final will serve as an audition for India ‘A’ selection. The final match is being played between East Zone and South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The match begins on Sunday. National selectors, including chairman Ajit Agarkar, will be in Chennai to observe the performances of the aspirants. There are five India ‘A’ Test matches scheduled over the next two months. India ‘A’ will face Australia at home and New Zealand away.
The BCCI wanted to add some star power to the domestic match. KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, and Mohammed Siraj were asked to join the South Zone squad. Padikkal and Siraj will play in the match. However, Rahul made himself unavailable. Padikkal is coming off a strong series in Sri Lanka. South Zone captain Tilak Varma confirmed that Padikkal will bat at number three. Tilak said that Padikkal will strengthen their batting line-up. He noted that Padikkal has been in good form in recent matches and will be a big boost for the team.
The East Zone have reached the title match after a gap of 14 years. Their last final appearance was also in Chennai, and they won that match. This fixture also marks the return of red-ball cricket to the MA Chidambaram Stadium after two years. East Zone captain Ishan Kishan spoke about the achievement. He said it has been 14 years since they last reached the final. He said they played as a unit and cared for each other.
FAQs
Q. Who will play South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final?
A. Devdutt Padikkal, Tilak Varma, and Mohammed Siraj will play.
Q. Who will captain East Zone in the final?
A. Ishan Kishan will captain East Zone.
Q. Who scored 92 in the Duleep Trophy semi-final?
A. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 92 for East Zone.
Q. Where will the Duleep Trophy final be played?
A. The final will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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