Padikkal, Siraj return to South Zone squad for Duleep Trophy final

Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj have been named in South Zone’s squad for the Duleep Trophy final against East Zone, beginning September 6. T20I regulars Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are also likely to feature

New Delhi: India internationals Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj are set to play in the Duleep Trophy final after being named in the South Zone squad for the showdown against East Zone that begins on September 6.

The two were recently in action in the two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka, which India won 1-0. Padikkal was the Player of the Series, having been India’s star batter with 328 runs in three innings as he scored two centuries.

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Siraj also bent his back in the two contests in Galle and Colombo and scalped four wickets in the series, as spinners dominated the proceedings mostly. While the two have been named in the squad for the final, it is not clear whom they have replaced.

As per Cricinfo, T20I regulars Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma are also likely to play the final despite the Duleep Trophy game ending on September 10, three days before the start of India’s T20I away series in New Delhi against Afghanistan.

Tilak had recently scored a stellar hundred for South in the semifinal against North and had expressed his desire to feature in the red-ball tournament’s final.

“I would love to play the final,” Tilak had said on Thursday. “This match has just finished, but I think the Afghanistan game is on the 13th. I am ready to play the final. After that we have two days of break in between, and if I report on the 11th also, I can practise for a day and from there I can go and play the match.”

Meanwhile, if the team management decides the three to not play the game, they might end up not featuring in the final at all. While Tilak captained South, Ishan and Sooryavanshi are captains and vice-captains, respectively, for the East Zone side.

Their potential departures would make East need a captain, and Abhimanyu Easwaran would likely take that role, having been Bengal’s captain for a long time.

South defeated North in the semifinal after chasing down 181, with Tilak scoring a 51 after his 116 in the first innings. Meanwhile, East Zone defeated defending champions Central Zone in the other semifinal after hunting down 159.