Duleep Trophy 2025: Dhruv Jurel will be the captain, Kuldeep and Khalil included in the Central Zone team

Dhruv Jurel has been named the captain of Central Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2025. The tournament will be held at the BCCI’s new Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru from August 28.

After a change in format in 2024, the Duleep Trophy is returning to its traditional zonal format this year. Four mixed teams (A, B, C, D) were formed last season, but the 2025 edition will see the zonal selection committees pick players from their respective zones. Jurel, who recently made headlines for replacing Rishabh Pant during India’s Test series in England, will captain the Central Zone. Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar, who had a brilliant domestic season and won the IPL title, has been named the vice-captain until he gets fitness clearance.

Some other key players in the squad

The squad features prominent names like Kuldeep Yadav, who is making a comeback to domestic cricket after sitting on the bench during India’s tour of England. Kuldeep will lead the spin department with Harsh Dubey, who broke records by taking 69 wickets in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, and Manav Suthar also in the squad.

In the fast bowling department, Khaleel Ahmed, who returned early from Essex County due to personal reasons, will pair up with Deepak Chahar, who has returned to fitness after a short break from the IPL.

Apart from this, among the batsmen, Yash Rathod, who top-scored with 960 runs in the last Ranji season, and Danesh Malewar, who scored brilliant knocks of 153 and 73 in the Ranji final, have also been included in the team. Uttar Pradesh captain Aryan Juyal, Madhya Pradesh off-spinner Saransh Jain and Chhattisgarh’s Sanchit Desai have also managed to find a place in the team.

Central Zone Squad

Team: Dhruv Jurel (Captain, Wicketkeeper), Rajat Patidar (Vice Captain – Subject to fitness clearance), Aryan Juyal, Danesh Malewar, Sanchit Desai, Kuldeep Yadav, Aditya Thackeray, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Y Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathore, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed

Standby: Madhav Kaushik Yash Thakur Yuvraj Choudhary Mahipal Lomror Kuldeep Sen Upendra Yadav