K Naga Gangadhar appointed South Zone manager for Duleep Trophy 2026

Former Andhra Ranji cricketer K. Naga Gangadhar has been appointed South Zone manager for the Duleep Trophy 2026, with fellow former Andhra player Vikram Verma named head coach. South Zone, led by Tilak Varma, has directly qualified for the semi-finals

Hyderabad: Former Andhra Ranji cricketer K. Naga Gangadhar has been appointed manager of the South Zone team, while former Andhra Ranji player Vikram Verma of Andhra has been appointed head coach for the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2026.

The tournament, featuring six zonal teams — South, East, North, West, Central and North East — is being held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) Ground in Bengaluru.

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The Duleep Trophy 2026-27 commenced on August 23, with South Zone led by India’s T20 vice-captain Tilak Varma as captain and Andhra’s senior batter Ricky Bhui as vice-captain. South Zone has directly qualified for the semi-finals and is scheduled to play its semi-final match in Bengaluru from August 30.

The South Zone squad includes notable players from Andhra, including Ricky Bhui (vice-captain), SK Rasheed, K. Sai Teja and T. Vijay.

Naga Gangadhar expressed his gratitude to Kesineni Shivanadh, President of the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), and Sana Satish Babu, ACA Secretary, for their continued support and for facilitating his role as manager. He described the opportunity as a matter of pride for Andhra and pledged to contribute to the team’s success in the tournament.