The semifinal will begin on September 4.
India batter Dhruv Jurel won’t feature in the Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal, starting September 4. He was part of the Central Zone squad, but won’t be available for the crucial fixture against West Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Even in the previous game against the North East Zone, Jurel was absent from the XI, led by Rajat Patidar. Aryan Juyal kept the wickets for Central Zone, and the match ended in a draw.
Dhruv Jurel won’t take part in the Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal due to being sick. According to Central Zone head coach Usman Ghani, Jurel is suffering from dengue and won’t be available for the next game.
This is a big setback for Central Zone, given his superior credentials as a batter and wicketkeeper. If fit, Jurel would have kept wickets and batted in the middle order to bolster an already strong Central Zone.
Jurel was named the captain of the team before the tournament, but his illness meant Patidar had to take over in the quarter-final fixture. Patidar, who won the IPL 2025 title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), will continue to lead Central Zone in Jurel’s absence.
Aayush Pandey, Upendra Yadav (wicketkeeper), Danish Malewar, Rajat Patidar (captain), Yash Rathod, Shubham Sharma, Harsh Dubey, Saransh Jain, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, and Yash Thakur.
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Dhruv Jurel has been going through a rough patch, physically and form-wise. He didn’t have a great time in the UP T20 League while playing for Gaur Gorakhpur Lions, whom he also led.
Jurel scored 84 runs at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 118.30 in four innings, with a best of 38. He did a decent job in IPL 2025, but couldn’t back it up with more consistent performances in the local league.
He was not considered for the Asia Cup 2025 either, as India picked Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma as wicketkeeper-batters. Now, he will look to regain full fitness soon and make himself available before the start of the home Test season.
Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar has replaced Dhruv Jurel in the Central Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal. Wadkar was unlucky to miss the initial list because he had a terrific domestic season, but he finally got a reward.
The team will require an additional wicketkeeper-batter in Jurel’s unavailability, and Wadkar ticks that box too. He scored 722 runs at an average of 45.12 in 18 Ranji Trophy 2024/25 innings, comprising two fifties and as many centuries.
He was at the helm as Vidarbha won the prestigious tournament, and his own performances were good enough to warrant a place in the Duleep Trophy 2025. While Wadkar has been added to the squad, it’s unclear whether he will get a spot in the XI since Aryan Juyal batted well to score 60 in the only innings he played against the North East Zone.
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