Duleep Trophy 2025: Full squads, schedule, format and key players

The Duleep Trophy, returning to the zonal format, will launch India’s domestic season on August 28 in Bengaluru.Six teams — North, South, West, East, Central and NorthEast — will feature big names like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Abhimanyu Easwaran, fresh from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.Comeback hopefuls Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan and Mohammed Shami are also set to play. However, Ishan Kishan and Akash Deep are sidelined with injuries.India regulars — Test captain Shubman Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar — will skip the tournament.The tournament will be hosted primarily at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, ensuring consistent playing conditions and reducing logistical challenges. This centralised venue choice is expected to provide ideal facilities for both players and support staff, with pitches designed to aid competitive red-ball cricket.The Duleep Trophy, long regarded as a testing ground for domestic talent on the cusp of national selection, is likely to feature several India A and fringe Test players eager to impress ahead of the high-profile Test assignments lined up for the season.ScheduleSquadsSouth Zone: Tilak Varma (c), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, Tripurana Vijay, R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Nidheesh MD, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar. (Standbys: Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed)East Zone: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami. (Standbys: Mukhtar Hussain, Aasirwad Swain, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Swastik Samal, Sudip Kr Gharami, Rahul Singh)West Zone squad: Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai (wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wicket-keeper), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmandrasinh Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala. (Standbys: Mahesh Pithiya, Shivalik Shama, Mukesh Choudhary, Siddharath Desai, Chintan Gaja, Urvil Patel, Musheer Khan)North Zone squad: Shubham Khajuria, Ankit Kumar (c), Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi, Nishant Sandhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan. (Standbys: Shubham Arora (wk), Jaskaranvir Singh Paul, Ravi Chauhan, Abid Mushtaq, Nishunk Birla, Umar Nazir, Divesh Sharma)Central Zone squad: Dhruv Jurel (c/wk), Rajat Patidar, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed. (Standbys: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, Upendra Yadav)NorthEast Zone: Jonathan Rongsen (c), Akash Kumar Choudhary, Techi Doria, Yumnum Karnajit, Sedezhalie Rupero, Ashish Thapa, Hem Bahadur Chetri, Jehu Anderson, Arpit Subash Bhatewara, Pheroijam Jotin Singh, Palzor Tamang, Ankur Malik, Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam, Aryan Borah, Lamabam Ajay Singh. (Standbys: Kamsha Yangfo, Rajkumar Rex Singh, Bobby Zothansanga, Dippu Sangma, Pukhrumbam Prafullomani Singh, Lee Yong Lepcha, Imliwati Lemtur)