India’s 2 Test stars ruled out of 2025 Duleep Trophy semifinals; BCCI announce replacements

Team India red-ball stars Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel have been ruled out of the upcoming 2025 Duleep Trophy semi-finals due to injury. They were in line to feature for the West Zone and Central Zone, respectively, for the knockout clash slated to begin on Thursday, September 4.

According to a report by the Times of India, Sarfaraz Khan has sustained a quadricep injury amid his heroics in the Buchi Babu Tournament in Chennai. The right-handed batter is likely to be replaced by Baroda batter Shivalik Sharma, who was one of the members among the West Zone reserves ahead of the Duleep Trophy.

The left-handed batter was Baroda's leading run-scorer in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy campaign, amassing 484 runs in seven matches at an average of 44. He was also part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) setup in the 2024 season.

"Sarfaraz is suffering from a quadriceps injury, which he picked up while scoring a century against Haryana in the Buchi Babu event five days ago. He's set to be out for almost three weeks, and is currently rehabilitating at the CoE," a source confirmed to the Times of India.

As far as Dhruv Jurel is concerned, the wicket-keeper did not play the opening fixture against the North East Zone due to a groin injury, will not feature in the remainder of the tournament as well. The Central Zone skipper had to relinquish the leadership duties to Rajat Patidar, and is set to be replaced by Uttar Pradesh wicket-keeper Upendra Yadav in the squad.

Jurel had recently featured for Team India during the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. He was the substitute wicket-keeper during the fourth Test at Old Trafford after Rishabh Pant sustained a fractured foot, and soon was promoted to the playing XI after the southpaw was ruled out entirely for the series finale at The Oval.

Tilak Varma and Sai Kishore also ruled out of Duleep Trophy knockouts

South Zone have also been hit with multiple blows ahead of their Duleep Trophy semi-final clash against the North Zone. Skipper Tilak Varma will be unavailable due to international commitments as he retained his place in the T20I squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore, on the other hand, has been ruled out due to a finger injury.

Earlier, North Zone captain Shubman Gill also withdrew from the Duleep Trophy at the eleventh hour due to illness. The newly elected T20I vice-captain handed over the leadership duties to Ankit Kumar, who scored a stellar 198 in the second innings of the drawn clash against the East Zone.