After an impressive start to his Test captaincy with a 2-2 result in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India skipper Shubman Gill will return to red-ball cricket later this month through the 2025-26 domestic season-opening Duleep Trophy as leader of the North Zone team.
With the tournament returning to the six-team zonal format, Gill will be joined by Punjab and Haryana pacers Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj from the Test squad that had recently ended the England tour on a high with a dramatic six-run win at the Oval.
Gill’s North Zone side will feature in the quarter-final match against East Zone, led by Ishan Kishan, at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru from August 28. The 25-year-old Gill had a dream start to his Test captaincy as he also converted his middling record in whites by smashing batting records with 754 runs in the series. Gill’s four centuries are the most by any captain in an away Test series as he joined the legendary club of Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar as the only leaders to ever achieve the feat.
This will be the first time Gill will lead the North Zone team in the Duleep Trophy, having recorded appearances for India Blue and India A in five matches in the past. Last year, Gill captained the Duleep Team A side in one match in Bengaluru, scoring 25 and 21 during a 76-run defeat.
Six members from the Jammu and Kashmir team have been picked in the North Zone squad, while Haryana batter Ankit Kumar was appointed as Gill’s deputy.
North Zone squad: Shubman Gill (c), Shubham Khajuria, Ankit Kumar (vc), Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi, Nishant Sindhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wk).
Replacements: Shubham Rohilla to replace Shubman Gill, Gurnoor Brar to replace Arshdeep Singh and Anuj Thakral will replace Harshit Rana in case of any India commitments during the tournament.
