Shubman Gill-led North Zone will take on East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 opener that begins from August 28. The star-studded team, led by the Indian team skipper, features several players who will have the spotlight on them, iincluding capped stars likes Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh. Ahead of the red-ball tournament, let us take a look at some of the stars from the North Zone whom you should watch out for.
Stars from North Zone to watch out for in Duleep Trophy
1. Shubman Gill
After being recently elevated as the Indian Test team captain, Gill has been named the skipper of the North Zone. Although he is expected to play just one game in the tournament, there are high expectations from the batter, who last featured in a first-class match earlier this year in the Ranji Trophy second leg. Gill has 5341 runs from 66 first-class games and averages 30.42. In the recently concluded IND vs ENG series, he finished as the leading run-getter with 740 runs to his name. Duleep Trophy 2025 will be Shubman’s preparation ground for the upcoming home series against West Indies and South Africa.
2. Arshdeep Singh
Although Arhsdeep was picked in India’s squad for the IND vs ENG series, he did not make his much-awaited Test debut. The southpaw has 66 wickets from 21 FC matches to his name so far. Although he is relatively lesser experienced in red-ball cricket, Singh stands a golden chance to make his case for a spot in India’s upcoming home series. However, he is likely to play just one match in Duleep Trophy like Gill, as he is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is and is a sure-shot inclusion in the Asia Cup squad.
3. Harshit Rana
Another North Zone player who could cut short his Duleep Trophy stint could be Delhi’s Harshit Rana. In 13 first-class matches, the Delhi pacer has managed to bag 48 wickets and averages 27.79. While he featured in a couple of Tests against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, he was released from the squad in the England series after being named as a back-up.
4. Auqib Nabi
Jammu and Kashmir’s Nabi finished as the second highest wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy 2024-25. He bagged 44 scalps from 8 matches, averaging 13.93. This included six five-wicket hauls and two four-wicket hauls.
5. Shubham Khajuria
J&K’s Khajuria was the 10th highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy 2024/25, with 679 runs from 8 matches. Averaging 48.50 in the domestic tourney, he was arguably one of the side’s best batters. Overall, he has 4111 runs from 73 matches and averages 32.88.
North Zone squad for Duleep Trophy
Shubman Gill, Shubham Khajuria, Ankit Kumar, Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi, Nishant Sandhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan
Standbys: Shubham Arora, Jaskaranvir Singh Paul , Ravi Chauhan, Abid Mushtaq, Nishunk Birla, Umar Nazir, Divesh Sharma
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