Duleep Trophy 2025: Meet the captains ft. Shubman Gill

Duleep Trophy 2025 will be played from August 28 to September 11. The first-class tournament will be held in the traditional zonal format featuring six teams - Central Zone, East Zone, North Zone, North East Zone, South Zone, and West Zone. The previous season featured only four teams picked by national selectors - India A, India B, India C, and India D.

The finalists of the previous zonal edition of the Duleep Trophy (2023) - South Zone and West Zone - will clash in the semifinals. The other four teams, Central, East, North and North East, will play quarterfinal matches. South Zone will meet the winner of Quarterfinal1 between North Zone and East Zone. West Zone will face the winner of Quarterfinal 2 between Central Zone and North East Zone.

All matches of Duleep Trophy 2025 will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. The squads of all teams have been announced. In this feature, we profile the captains of all Duleep Trophy 2025 teams.

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Shardul Thakur (West Zone)

Team India all-rounder Shardul Thakur will lead the West Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. The 33-year-old was part of the Indian team that squared the tightly contested five-match Test series in England 2-2. While Thakur failed to make an impact with the ball in the two matches that he played, the all-rounder scored a handy 41 in the first innings of the Manchester Test.

The Mumbai cricketer has the experience of 96 first-class matches in which he has claimed 302 wickets at an average of 28.11, with 15 five-fers and as many four-fers to his credit. With the bat, Thakur has contributed 2,618 runs at an average of 20.61, with two hundreds and 16 half-centuries to his name.

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Shubman Gill (North Zone)

Team India's Test captain Shubman Gill will lead North Zone in Duleep Trophy 2025. The 25-year-old had a stellar series in England, smashing 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, with four tons and a career-best of 269. Gill has played 37 Test matches and has scored 2,647 runs at an average of 41.35. He has also featured 55 ODIs and 21 T20Is.

Looking at his first-class career, the Punjab cricketer has played 66 matches and has scored 5,341 runs at an average of 49.91. Gill has 18 hundreds and 19 half-centuries to his name. He was also a key member of the India U-19 team that won the 2018 World Cup in New Zealand, smashing 372 runs in five innings.

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Tilak Varma (South Zone)

Tilak Varma in action for Hampshire in a Metro Bank One Day Cup match in Southampton (Image Credits: Getty Images)

India's young T20I batting star Tilak Varma will captain South Zone in Duleep Trophy 2025. While the 22-year-old is yet to play a Test match for India, he has featured in 25 T20Is and four ODIs. The Mumbai Indians (MI) batter has smashed 749 runs in T20Is at a strike rate of 155.07, with two hundreds and three fifties.

Looking at his first-class career, the Hyderabad cricketer has featured in 22 matches and has scored 1,562 runs at an average of 52.06. The southpaw has notched up seven hundreds and five half-centuries in first-class cricket. With his part-time off-spin, Varma has claimed eight wickets.

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Abhimanyu Easwaran (East Zone)

Ishan Kishan was initially named East Zone captain for the 2025 Duleep Trophy. However, he has ruled out of the team's opening fixture due to an injury he suffered in the UK during his stint with Nottinghamshire. Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead East Zone in his absence. The 29-year-old was part of India's squad during the Test series in England, but did not play in any of the matches.

Easwaran, who is yet to make his Test debut despite being on the fringes for the last few years, has played 103 first-class matches so far. The Bengal batter has amassed 7,841 runs in first-class cricket, averaging 48.70, with the aid of 27 hundreds and 31 fifties. Captaining India A, Easwaran registered two half-centuries in the two unofficial Tests against England Lions.

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Dhruv Jurel (Central Zone)

Keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will captain Central Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. Jurel was part of the India A squad that took on England Lions and registered three fifties in four innings. He was picked in the Indian squad for the five-match series in England. He played in the last Test at The Oval, scoring 19 & 34. In the previous two games, Jurel stepped in as substitute keeper for injured Rishabh Pant.

Player	Matches	Runs	Average	100s	50s	Wickets	Bowling Avg
Shubman Gill	66	5,341	49.91	18	19	-	-
Shardul Thakur	96	2,618	20.61	2	16	302	28.11
Tilak Varma	22	1,562	52.06	7	5	8	20.12
Dhruv Jurel	25	1,515	47.34	1	12	-	-
Abhimanyu Easwaran	103	7,841	48.70	27	31	2	73.50
Rongsen Jonathan	48	2,568	33.35	6	11	73	39.89

(First-class stats of Duleep Trophy 2025 captains)

The Uttar Pradesh stumper has played five Tests for India so far, scoring 255 runs at an average of 36.42, with a best of 90. In first-class cricket, the 24-year-old has played 25 matches and has scored 1,515 runs at an average of 47.34, with the aid of one hundred and 12 half-centuries.

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Rongsen Jonathan (North East Zone)

Nagaland captain Rongsen Jonathan will lead North East Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. A batting all-rounder, the 38-year-old has the experience of 48 first-class matches. In 80 innings, he has scored 2,568 runs, averaging 33.35, with six tons and 11 fifties. With the ball, he has claimed 73 wickets at an average of 39.89. Rongsen has three five-fers and two four-fers to his credit.