After his first stint as India’s Test captain ended in a 2-2 draw against England, Shubman Gill is now stepping into a new leadership role. He’ll captain the North Zone team in the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, which kicks off in Bengaluru on August 28. Along with him, seamers Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep Singh were part of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy are also in the squad. Harshit Rana made his Test debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year will add some extra depth to their seam attack.
If Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana are selected for India's Asia Cup squad, Shubham Rohilla, Gurnoor Brar and Anuj Thakral will step in for them in the Duleep Trophy. The Asia Cup, running from September 9 to 28, overlaps with the Duleep Trophy, which starts on August 28 with the final scheduled between September 11 and 15. Ankit Kumar, who was Haryana's top scorer in the previous Ranji season with 574 runs at nearly 59, has been named North Zone’s vice-captain. His Haryana teammate, Nishant Sindhu, a left-arm spin-bowling allrounder, is also part of the squad.
While Shubman Gill's captaincy was mostly praised, there were some concerns during his leadership in England. Critics pointed out that he didn’t bowl spinners and fast-bowling all-rounders enough, and Kuldeep Yadav was left out throughout the series. On the positive side, Gill’s batting stood out as he finished as the highest run-scorer in the series, amassing 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75. This boosted his career average to over 40, up from the mid-40s before the tour. His time in the Duleep Trophy could further prepare him for upcoming challenges.
Along with Harshit Rana, the North Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy also features Yash Dhull, the former India Under-19 World Cup-winning captain, and Ayush Badoni, the only players from Delhi in the team. They’re currently in action during the second season of the Delhi Premier League T20 tournament. The squad also has five players from Jammu & Kashmir, including opener Shubham Khajuria and seamer Auqib Nabi, who made a huge impact in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy by taking 44 wickets at an average of 13.93. Services' Ravi Chauhan and Chandigarh's Nishunk Birla are among the stand-bys.
The Duleep Trophy is back to its traditional zonal format after a season where four teams A, B, C and D were picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led senior men's selection committee. This year, teams will be selected by zonal committees with each committee having one member from each state side in the zone. North Zone will play the opening game of the domestic season against East Zone, starting on August 28, at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Squad: Shubman Gill (Captain, Punjab), Shubham Khajuria (J&K), Ankit Kumar (Vice-Captain, Haryana), Ayush Badoni (Delhi), Yash Dhull (Delhi), Ankit Kalsi (Himachal Pradesh), Nishant Sandhu (Haryana), Sahil Lotra (J&K), Mayank Dagar (Himachal Pradesh), Yudhvir Singh Charak (J&K), Arshdeep Singh (Punjab), Harshit Rana (Delhi), Anshul Kamboj (Haryana), Auqib Nabi (J&K), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (J&K, wicketkeeper)
Standbys: Shubham Arora (Himachal Pradesh), Jaskaranvir Singh Paul (Punjab), Ravi Chauhan (Services), Abid Mushtaq (J&K), Nishunk Birla (Chandigarh), Umar Nazir (J&K), Divesh Sharma (Himachal Pradesh)
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