In a major boost for South Zone, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Devdutt Padikkal have been added to the squad for the Duleep Trophy final against East Zone, which will be played from September 6-10 at Chennai’s M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.
With Rahul, Siraj and Padikkal not involved in the T20I series against Afghanistan or the Asian Games, the trio will be available for South Zone’s Duleep Trophy final. Their inclusion is also in line with the BCCI’s policy of ensuring centrally contracted and capped players turn out for domestic cricket whenever their international commitments allow.
All three players were part of India’s squad that won the two-match series against Sri Lanka last month. Padikkal was the Player of the Series after finishing as his team’s leading run-scorer. Rahul also did well with the bat, but for some reason, Siraj did not look at his best with the ball.
With the addition of these three players, South Zone are expected to make multiple changes to their playing XI.
South Zone have also added Chama Milind to the squad as cover for Vidhwath Kaverappa. The Karnataka seamer sustained an injury during the semi-final against North Zone, which ended on Wednesday.
The availability of captain Tilak Varma, however, remains uncertain. It is yet to be decided whether he will be cleared to play the final in Chennai or instructed to report to the T20I squad in Delhi ahead of the Afghanistan series. As reported by RevSportz, India head coach Gautam Gambhir will take the final call on the T20I squad members who are also in contention to play the Duleep Trophy final.
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