Duleep Trophy Final: KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj And Devdutt Padikkal Join South Zone Squad

Veteran Indian opener KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and seasoned pacer Mohmmad Siraj have been added to the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy final against East Zone. The final is scheduled to be played from September 6-10 at M.A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

South Zone has also added left-arm pacer C.V Milind in the squad as a cover for Vidhwath Kaverappa. Karnataka pacer Kaverappa picked up an injury during the semi-final clash against North Zone.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Might Miss The Final

According to earlier PTI reports, these three Indians, who played in the recently concluded test series against Sri Lanka, were asked to play in the Duleep Trophy final.

"Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj do not have any competitive cricket right now. The national selectors want any Indian player who is available; should play the Duleep Trophy final. The trio played last on August 27. The next match they will play is on September 27 against the West Indies in the ODIs," said the source.

As per reports, East Zone’s captain Ishan Kishan, vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and South Zone captain Tilak Varma might miss the title clash. The trio has been picked up for the series against Afghanistan, which begins on September 13 in Delhi; the squad members are required to assemble on September 9. The participation of these Indians depends on national team head coach Gautam Gambhir.

A Final After Ages

The summit clash between South Zone and East is going to be a memorable one. Both the teams have faced each other in the final only once in the season 1970/71. Back then, South Zone beat East Zone by ten wickets to lift the trophy. East Zone last won a trophy in the 2012/13 season, beating Central Zone in the final.

Since then, this is going to be their first appearance in the final of the Duleep Trophy. On the other hand, South Zone has won 13 titles in 24 final appearances. Their latest triumph was in 2023, when they were able to beat West Zone in the final by a comfortable margin of 75 runs.