The current season of the Duleep Trophy has reached its peak. The final match between the South Zone and Central Zone teams will be played from Thursday. Young players like Ravichandran S and Danish Malewar will try to attract the attention of the selectors by performing well in this match.
Sports News: The final match of Duleep Trophy 2025 will be played from Thursday, in which the South Zone and Central Zone teams will face each other for the coveted trophy. The excitement for this final has increased this time because many star players from both teams are unavailable for the Asia Cup and India A squad. In such a situation, this is a golden opportunity for young players to showcase their talent in front of the national selectors.
Central Zone: Young Players Under the Leadership of Rajat Patidar
Apart from the captain of Central Zone, Rajat Patidar, no other star player is participating in the final. This means there is a big chance for young players to make their mark in this match. Ravichandran S is a prominent batsman for Karnataka. He has scored 516 runs in seven first-class matches, including two centuries. His average is 64.50. His performance in List A and T20 has also been impressive. In 10 matches of 50 overs, he has scored 433 runs at an average of 72.16, while in six T20 matches, his strike rate has been 170.
On the other hand, Danish Malewar made his mark by scoring 203 and 76 runs in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. The 21-year-old Malewar has scored 1077 runs in 11 first-class matches so far, with three centuries. 19-year-old Andre Siddharth from Tamil Nadu is also among the players to watch out for in the final. He made a brilliant start to his first-class career in the 2024-25 season with an impressive 612 runs, averaging 68.
South Zone: Experienced Captaincy and Young Batsmen
The captain of South Zone, Mohammed Azharuddin (Wicketkeeper), and vice-captain Ricky Bhui will lead the team. South Zone is also playing without many big batsmen like Devdutt Padikkal and Narayan Jagadeesan, but young players like Ravichandran S and Andre Siddharth are ready to shine. The batting department is b in both teams. Central Zone has players like Rajat Patidar, Danish Malewar, and S, while Azharuddin, Ricky Bhui, and Andre Siddharth are reliable options for South Zone.
Some key bowlers for Central Zone are out for the India A squad, including spinner Harsh Dubey, and fast bowlers Khaleel Ahmed and Yash Thakur. Despite this, Central Zone's bowling department has experienced fast bowler Deepak Chahar, who can prove to be important for the team. South Zone also faces some challenges in its bowling department, but the team's bowlers like T Vijay and Basil NP are ready to play their part.
Both Teams for the Final Match
Central Zone Team: Rajat Patidar (Captain), Ayush Pandey, Danish Malewar, Shubham Sharma, Sanchit Desai, Yash Rathore, Nachiket Bhute, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Aditya Thackeray, Upendra Yadav (Wicketkeeper), Ajay Singh Kukna, Akshay Wadkar (Wicketkeeper), Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, and Saransh Jain.
South Zone Team: Mohammed Azharuddin (Captain and Wicketkeeper), Ricky Bhui (Vice-Captain), Ravichandran S, Kale M, Sheikh Rasheed, Tanmay Agarwal, Salman Nizar, Andre Siddharth, Tanay Thyagarajan, Gurjapneet Singh, MD Nidheesh, Vasuki Kaushik, Ankit Sharma, T Vijay, and Basil NP.
