South Zone have reshuffled their Duleep Trophy squad, bringing in Puducherry all-rounder Ankit Sharma and Andhra batter Shaik Rasheed for next week’s semi-final against North Zone in Bengaluru (4-8 September).
The changes were forced. Tilak Varma, originally named captain, is now with India’s Asia Cup party. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore is still nursing the finger he damaged while trying to stop a fierce drive in a Chennai league game and has not been passed fit.
With Tilak away, Kerala wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Azharuddeen steps up from vice-captain to lead the side. Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan, fresh from a maiden Test squad call-up earlier this month, takes over as deputy.
Ankit, 34, enjoyed a strong 2024-25 Ranji season: 24 wickets at 28.95 and handy lower-order runs (216 at 24.00). “I’ve played long enough to know opportunities don’t always come twice,” he said after receiving the call. Rasheed, 20, was Andhra’s stand-out last winter, amassing 627 runs at 52.25, including a double-ton against Hyderabad. His stint with Chennai Super Kings in this year’s IPL has not harmed his confidence. “Red-ball rhythm is a different beast, but the basics stay the same,” he noted.
Both players were on the original standby list, so the paperwork was straightforward. South Zone selectors, though, were keen to stress continuity. “We didn’t want wholesale changes,” one selector explained. “The core group has earned this semi-final.”
The match will be staged on one of the newer strips at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Early September in Bengaluru usually offers a bit of seam movement before the pitch flattens; spinners often come into play from day three, so the balance of two quicks and two spinners looks likely.
North Zone advanced after securing a first-innings lead over East Zone in a rain-affected quarter-final. In the other semi, Central Zone meet West Zone.
South Zone squad
Mohammed Azharuddeen (capt & wk), Tanmay Agarwal, Shaik Rasheed, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, N Jagadeesan (wk & vc), T Vijay, Ankit Sharma, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar.
The winner will advance to the 10-September final. For now, South Zone’s task is simple: settle the new faces quickly and keep the focus on first-innings runs—a currency that still decides plenty of knockout matches in India’s domestic calendar.
