New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) India left-handed batter Tilak Varma will captain South Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy, starting on August 28. The tournament, which will be held in the old zonal format of six teams, will mark the beginning of 2025/26 domestic cricket season.

Though Tilak didn’t play for Hyderabad in the previous Ranji Trophy season due to his Indian team commitments, the left-handed batter scored a century on his County Championship debut for Hampshire against Essex and followed it up with scores of 56, 47 and 100.

Kerala batter Mohammed Azharuddeen, who shined for Kerala in the Ranji semi-final against Gujarat in Ahmedabad with his career-best score of 177, has named the vice-captain in a squad selected by South Zone selectors during a meeting in Pondicherry.

Apart from Azharuddeen, batter Salman Nizar along with pacers Basil NP and Nidheesh MD have found places in the main squad. Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal, who amassed 934 runs in seven matches and paved the way for the side’s return to the Elite system in Ranji Trophy, has also been named.

Other prominent India names include left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore, left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal and wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan, who earned his maiden India call-up as a replacement for injured Rishabh Pant for the upcoming fifth Test against England at The Oval.

The Duleep Trophy will begin on August 28 through quarter-final clashes between North Zone and East Zone, while Central Zone take on North East Zone at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on August 28.

The first match of the South Zone is on September 4, with their opponents to be winner of the clash between North and East Zones. Former India fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji will be the head coach of the South Zone team.

South Zone Duleep Trophy squad: Tilak Varma (c) (Hyderabad), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc) (Kerala), Tanmay Agarwal (Hyderabad), Devdutt Padikkal (Karnataka), Mohit Kale (Pondicherry), Salman Nizar (Kerala), Narayan Jagadeesan (Tamil Nadu), Tripurana Vijay (Andhra), R Sai Kishore (Tamil Nadu), Tanay Thyagarajan (Hyderabad), Vijaykumar Vyshak (Karnataka), Nidheesh MD (Kerala), Ricky Bhui (Andhra), Basil NP (Kerala), Gurjapneet Singh (Tamil Nadu), and Snehal Kauthankar (Goa).

Stand-by players: Mohit Redkar (Goa), R Smaran (Karnataka), Ankit Sharma (Pondicherry), Edhen Apple Tom (Kerala), Andre Siddarth (Tamil Nadu), and Shaikh Rasheed (Andhra).

–IANS

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