Duleep Trophy 2025: Ankit Sharma And Shaik Rasheed In Squad

South Zone has made key replacements in its team for the forthcoming Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-final, which will begin on September 4 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru. Puducherry all-rounder Ankit Sharma and Andhra Pradesh’s top-order batter Shaik Rasheed have been included in the team in place of Tilak Varma and R Sai Kishore.

Tilak Varma to Miss the Duleep Trophy Due to the Asia Cup

Initially named captain of South Zone, Tilak Varma is set to miss the Duleep Trophy semi-final following his selection in India’s Asia Cup 2025 team. Mohammed Azharuddeen, initially the vice-captain, will now take over as captain of South Zone in his absence. Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan has been named the new vice-captain.

Sai Kishore Ruled Out Due to Injury

Tamil Nadu’s R Sai Kishore is still recovering from a finger injury he suffered while trying to block a shot from M Shahrukh Khan in a first-division club match at Chennai. The injury also prevented him from playing in the Buchi Babu tournament earlier this season.

Why Ankit Sharma and Shaik Rasheed Were Picked

Ankit Sharma (34): The Puducherry all-rounder enjoyed a great Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, claiming 24 wickets in seven games at 28.95 and making 216 runs.

Shaik Rasheed (20): Promising young Andhraite Rasheed was the team’s top run-scorer in Ranji 2024-25, piling up 627 runs in 12 innings at 52.25, including a double-century against Hyderabad. Rasheed also played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025. Both the players were initially on standby for South Zone and would now be featuring in the semi-final.

South Zone to Meet North Zone in Semi-Final

South Zone will face North Zone,who had progressed after having a first-innings lead against East Zone in the quarter-final. Central Zone vs West Zone would be the other semi-final.