Hanuma Vihari named captain, Mayank Agarwal his deputy as star-studded South Zone Duleep Trophy squad revealed

While Vihari last represented India in July 2022, 32-year-old Agarwal hasn’t featured in the Indian Test team since March 2022. They would be aiming to score some handy runs and come into the reckoning for India’s West Indies tour which kicks off from July 12.

The star-studded South Squad also featured two youngsters who set the IPL 2023 on fire. Gujarat Titans’ (GT) Sai Sudharsan and Mumbai Indians (MI) star Tilak Varma will be available for selection for South Zone.

Washington Sunday who was ruled out midway through the IPL 2023 due to a hamstring injury also found a place in the squad.

Further, KS Bharat would be hoping for a good tournament after a poor outing against Australia in World Test Championship final (WTC Final) where he managed to score 5 and 23 runs across the two innings.

After India’s 209-run defeat in the WTC Final 2023, Indian selectors could be looking to rejig and refresh the Indian Test team, and the Duleep Trophy will provide all these players the opportunity to throw their names in the hat.

South Zone squad: Hanuma Vihari (c), Mayank Agarwal (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Ricky Bhui (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Samarth, Washington Sundar, Sachin Baby, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Sai Kishore, V Kaverappa, V Vyshak, KV Sasikanth, Darshan Misal, and Tilak Varma