The Duleep Trophy 2025 will mark the commencement of India’s upcoming domestic season. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the tournament will be return to be played in zonal formats, with teams divided across six zones — North, East, West, South, North East and Central. To lead the South Zone, the selectors have picked Tilak Varma as the captain for the 2025 edition of the premier red-ball tournament.

Star India and Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper Sanju Samson was omitted from the Duleep Trophy South Zone squad that will interestingly feature five players from Kerala. Sanju, who played just two Ranji Trophy matches during Kerala’s historic run to their maiden final last year, remained on the fringes for the better part of the previous season, owing to injury concerns and international commitments.

Tilak’s finalization as a leader was done formally after a meeting by the zonal selection committee during their recent meeting in Pondicherry. Meanwhile, Mohammad Azharuddeen, who led Kerala to their rare Ranji Trophy final appearance last year, has been picked as the vice-captain of the squad. A notable Kerala player missing from the Kerala squad is star cricketer Sanju Samson. The wicketkeeper-batter, however, had suffered injury issues during the IPL 2025 and may not have recovered yet, which led the selectors to look ahead of him.

“Sanju was not selected because he was unavailable for much of last year’s Ranji Trophy season, when Kerala made their historic run to the final,” Thalaivan Sargunam Xavier, the chairman for South Zone selection committee, told TOI.

“This squad was picked based on players who have consistently performed well in the Ranji Trophy and during India A tours. N Jagadeeshan, the wicketkeeper-batter, who was added as cover for the injured Rishabh Pant during the ongoing England series, was selected due to his standout performances in domestic red-ball cricket. This is the blueprint set by the national selectors. Consequently, we decided to include Jagadeeshan and Andhra’s Ricky Bhui as the stand-in gloveman,” Xavier added.

In the last season, the Duleep Trophy featured India A, B, C, and D teams that were picked by national selectors. But this season, the tournament will be held in the traditional format next month. The decision to appoint Tilak Varma as the captain was made during the South Zone selection meeting held at the Siechem Stadium in Pondicherry on Saturday, July 26.

However, Tilak Varma missed the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy season due to international duties, but he is currently in sensational form. The 22-year-old has been making headlines during his debut County Championship stint with Hampshire, scoring a century on debut against Essex, followed by impressive knocks of 56, 47, and another 100 in his next few matches.

The Duleep Trophy 2025 kicks off on August 28 in Bengaluru, with North Zone facing East Zone and Central Zone taking on Northeast Zone in the quarterfinals. South Zone will play the winner of the first quarterfinal in the semifinal on September 4, while West Zone will meet the winner of the second quarterfinal of the tournament.

South Zone Squad for Duleep Trophy 2025:

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), 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).