The Tilak Varma-led side will face the winner of the quarter-finals in the first semi-final, which will be played at the BCC Centre of Excellence Grounds in Bengaluru. If the team wins or takes a first-inning lead in the semi-finals, it will go to the finals to face the winners of the second semi-final, where West Zone is one of the pre-seeded teams.

The Duleep Trophy 2025 will signal the start of India’s forthcoming domestic season. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stated that the competition will revert to zonal forms, with teams divided into six zones: North, East, West, South, North East, and Central. The selectors have chosen Tilak Varma to captain the South Zone in the 2025 edition of the top red-ball event.

Why did Sanju Samson miss out?

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.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu skipper R Sai Kishore, who plays under Shubman Gill at Gujarat Titans, has also been picked. Tanmay Agarwal, the top-order batter who had a fantastic run in the 2024-25 season, has also been chosen to represent the South Zone. Meanwhile, Kishore’s TN teammate Narayan Jagadeesan has also been added to the 16-man squad. Vijay Kumar Vyshak is the only representative of Karnataka in the side.

South Zone Duleep Trophy 2025 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), Snehal Kauthankar (Goa)

Stand-by players: Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Schedule, Time, Date, Venues and More