The stage is set for the Duleep Trophy 2025, with all four zonal squads announced ahead of the tournament that begins on August 28 at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The tournament will kick off with two quarterfinal matches, followed by the semifinals and the final scheduled from September 11.
Dhruv Jurel to Lead Central Zone
India international Dhruv Jurel has been named captain of the Central Zone. The wicketkeeper-batter will lead a well-balanced side that includes experienced players like Kuldeep Yadav and Deepak Chahar. Rajat Patidar has been named vice-captain, subject to fitness clearance.
Central Zone Squad:
Dhruv Jurel (c, wk), Rajat Patidar (vc – subject to fitness clearance), Aryan Juyal, Danesh Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakre, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pande, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed
Standbys: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav
Shubman Gill to Captain North Zone
India’s Test captain Shubman Gill will lead North Zone in the tournament. However, with the Asia Cup 2025 scheduled around the same time, the selectors have identified replacements in case some players are called up to the national side.
“It was discussed and decided in the meeting that, in the event Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, or any of them are selected for the Indian team during the upcoming series coinciding with the Duleep Trophy tournament, the following replacements will be made: Shubham Rohilla (Services) will replace Gill, Gurnoor Brar will replace Arshdeep, and Anuj Thukral will replace Harshit Rana.”
North Zone Squad:
Shubman Gill (Captain, Punjab), Shubham Khajuria (J&K), Ankit Kumar (Vice-Captain, Haryana), Ayush Badoni (Delhi), Yash Dhull (Delhi), Ankit Kalsi (Himachal Pradesh), Nishant Sandhu (Haryana), Sahil Lotra (J&K), Mayank Dagar (Himachal Pradesh), Yudhvir Singh Charak (J&K), Arshdeep Singh (Punjab), Harshit Rana (Delhi), Anshul Kamboj (Haryana), Auqib Nabi (J&K), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (J&K, wk)
Standbys: Shubham Arora (Himachal Pradesh), Jaskaranvir Singh Paul (Punjab), Ravi Chauhan (Services), Abid Mushtaq (J&K), Nishunk Birla (Chandigarh), Umar Nazir (J&K), Divesh Sharma (Himachal Pradesh)
Shardul Thakur to Lead West Zone
Shardul Thakur has been named captain of the West Zone, which enters the tournament at the semifinal stage starting September 4. The squad includes high-profile names such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sarfaraz Khan, while Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have not been picked.
The selection committee, chaired by Sanjay Patil of the Mumbai Cricket Association, named a balanced squad with players from Mumbai, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Saurashtra.
West Zone Squad:
Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala
Standbys: Mahesh Pithiya, Shivalik Sharma, Mukesh Chaudhary, Siddharth Desai, Chintan Gaja, Musheer Khan, Urvil Patel
Ishan Kishan to Lead East Zone
Ishan Kishan will captain East Zone, with Abhimanyu Easwaran as his deputy. The squad features five players from Bengal, including Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, and Suraj Jaiswal.
East Zone Squad:
Ishan Kishan (C)(WK), Abhimanyu Easwaran (VC), Sandeep Pattnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami
Standbys: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Rahul Singh
