He was an important part of the recent ENG vs IND Test series.
The Duleep Trophy, India’s domestic tournament is set too be played for the 62nd time. The squads and captains for all teams have been declared. The tournament will be played with five teams, namely the North Zone, South Zone, East Zone, West Zone and Central Zone. India’s red-ball skipper Shubman Gill is entrusted with the responsibility to lead the North Zone side. To add to that, Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur and Tilak Verma were declared as the skippers for East Zone, West Zone and the South Zone respectively. The Duleep Trophy 2025 will start from August 28 in Bengaluru.
SLK
–
SKA
–
TKR
–
BR
–
SWDM
–
GGDM
–
ADKRDM
–
DCDM
–
NDS
–
NDT
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
CLZ
–
NEZ
–
NTZ
–
EZ
–
LKLS
–
CLJ
–
ACB
–
TSA
–
ACB
–
CLJ
–
LKLS
–
CLJ
–
ACB
–
TSA
–
TSA
–
CLJ
–
BAC
–
CLJ
–
LKLS
–
TSA
–
TSA
–
CLJ
–
BAC
–
LKLS
–
SOM
–
GLO
–
HAM
–
MID
–
DEN
–
KWT
–
PNG
–
JER
–
NAM
–
SCOT
–
BAN
–
IND
–
Match Called off
KZK
–
KUMS
–
KBTS
–
ATR
–
ARKS
–
ALRS
–
TTS
–
ARKS
–
CAGS
–
ALRS
–
HBT
–
MGD
–
ROS
–
YSG
–
MAT
–
IAI
–
MUT
–
RNC
–
YSG
–
MAT
–
ZIM
–
SL
–
SGR
–
RLS
–
UOQ
–
WYN
–
SSC
–
SBB
–
VLLY
–
WSS
–
NSBB
–
UOQ
–
GCT
–
SSC
–
SOB
–
WEF
–
SBW-W
–
WFW-W
–
AFG
–
PAK
–
KASS
–
LUF
–
NOSK
–
KARS
–
GOLS
–
MEMA
–
KASS
–
NOSK
–
In a recent development, the selectors have named wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel as the captain of the Central Zone team. The likes of Rajat Patidar, Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar will be playing under his leadership. The West Zone has been the most successful team in the history of the coveted tournament.
Organizers used to schedule the tournament with four teams named alphabetically. India A, India B, India C and India D were the four teams. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) used to select all these teams. The same body used to name the captains too. The South Zone clinched the last title in 2023/24.
With Dhruv Jurel at the helm, the side is a fine balance between youth and experience. Players like Rajat Patidar will definitely add to the quality of the side. Having clinched the Indian Premier League (IPL) recently, Patidar will be in a position to provide a lot of his insights. Though the formats are different, Patidar’s experience will be crucial to the chances of the team. Khaleel Ahmed will lead the bowling department. Deepak Chahar will also be a crucial ingredient in the team, but will have to stay away from his injuries in order to perform consistently.
Central Zone Squad: Dhruv Jurel (C / WK), Rajat Patidar*, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanchit Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed
Stand-By Players: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav.
ALSO READ:
They named the tournament after India’s former player Duleepsinhji. One thing that makes the Duleep Trophy very unique is that it uses Kookaburra balls, making it the only Indian domestic tournament to do so. Players in India usually use SG Test balls for multi-day games including international Test matches.
The Duleep Trophy sits right up there with the most important tournaments in the domestic circuit of India. Some of the other major tournaments include the Ranji Trophy, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Irani Cup. Teams play the latter after the Ranji Trophy every season.
This will be a testing assignment for Jurel. It will provide a good platform for him to showcase his leadership skills on the big stage. He impressed everyone with his glovework in the recently concluded ENG vs IND series. Additionally, he was rock-solid with the bat in hand on multiple occasions. However, the Duleep Trophy will pose a different challenge along with the leadership role on his shoulders.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
