India Test captain Shubman Gill has been named in the North Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
Shubman Gill to lead North Zone in 2025-26 Duleep Trophy
The squad for the domestic curtain-raiser was announced on Thursday (August 7), following earlier announcements of the South Zone, East Zone and West Zone teams. The Duleep Trophy is returning to a zonal format this year, after being in the India A/B/C/D format last season.
India Test skipper Shubman Gill, who represents Punjab in domestic cricket, will captain North Zone. Having been a Test regular for over four years now, his domestic appearances have been limited. In the 2024-25 season, he played one Duleep Trophy match last September, and one Ranji Trophy match in January, scoring four and 102. Prior to the recently-concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, his first engagement as Test captain, he had led in just five first-class games.
Also read: Celebrated Test duo excluded from West Zone Duleep Trophy squad
Three other India internationals have been picked. Arshdeep Singh (Punjab) was part of the Test squad that toured England, while Harshit Rana (Delhi) and Anshul Kamboj (Haryana) were with the India A team. Rana was retained as cover for the first Test, while Kamboj received a squad call-up, and debut, in the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
Read more: India pace trio picked, 14-year-old star named standby in East Zone Duleep Trophy squad
The selectors have named replacements for Gill, Arshdeep and Rana in case any or all of them should be called up to play for India in the Asia Cup which begins on September 9, six days before the end of the Duleep Trophy. If Gill is absent for any fixture, Haryana's Ankit Kumar will take over the captaincy duties.
North Zone squad for 2025-26 Duleep Trophy
Batters
Shubman Gill (c)*, Ankit Kumar (vc), Shubham Khajuria, Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi.
Wicketkeepers
Kanhaiya Wadhawan.
All-rounders
Nishant Sindhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar.
Bowlers
Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh*, Harshit Rana*, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi.
Standbys
Shubham Arora (wk), Jaskaranvir Singh Paul, Ravi Chauhan, Abid Mushtaq, Nishunk Birla, Umar Nazir, Divesh Sharma.
*Shubham Rohilla, Gurnoor Brar and Anuj Thakral are the respective replacements for Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in case these players are selected to represent India at the Asia Cup.
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