India batter Tilak Varma has been rewarded for his impressive form in the domestic circuit as he has been named captain of the South Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025, the Indian Express reported. Tilak will lead the side that also features R Sai Kishore, Devdutt Padikkal, Narayan Jagadeesan and Vijaykumar Vyshak, among others.
Tilak was recently in action in the County cricket with Hampshire and slammed 315 runs in four innings, including two centuries. He hit a hundred on his debut in his maiden County stint and backed it up with a half-century (56) and a 47 in the second game. The Hyderabad batter then slammed 112 in the third game against Notts.
Meanwhile, N Jagadeesan, who has recently earned an India call-up for the fifth Test against England after Rishabh Pant's injury, is also in the squad. Kerala's Mohammed Azharuddeen was named the vice-captain after his scintillating 177 in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Gujarat and helped Kerala secure a place in the Ranji final for the first time.
Tamil Nadu captain R Sai Kishore is also in the squad after his highly impressive performance in the Ranji Trophy, where he picked 24 wickets in five matches. Sai had led Tamil Nadu to the quarterfinals of the domestic premier tournament.
The Duleep Trophy returns to its previous format with six teams now contesting for the season opener domestic tournament. Four teams - India A, B, C and D - competed in the tournament last year; however, the First-class competition is now back with zonal teams featuring in it.
South Zone's 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), Shaikh Rasheed (Andhra).
