Duleep Trophy 2025: RR Star Dhruv Jurel Gets Replaced By Vidarbha Skipper Akshay Wadkar

Dhruv Jurel, the Indian wicketkeeper who was selected to lead the Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025, would not be participating in the home competition. Jurel had a fantastic chance to impress and try out for a berth in the middle order of the India Test team because Rishabh Pant was out due to a fractured foot, and the home series against South Africa and the West Indies was approaching.

After receiving a dengue diagnosis, Jurel, who was originally named the team captain, has been sidelined. Wadkar, who controversially missed out on selection despite leading Vidarbha to their third Ranji Trophy victory earlier this year, has now been given a chance. The 31-year-old is renowned for maintaining composure under duress, avoiding collapses, and leading his team from the front. He scored 722 runs in 10 games during the Ranji Trophy 2024–25 campaign. With two hundreds in Ranji Trophy finals and numerous more significant knocks, he has an FC record of 3865 runs at an average of 49 in 61 games.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Squad Update:

After a convincing first-inning victory over North East Zone in the quarterfinal at Bengaluru, Central Zone advanced to the next round. But before the semi-final, the team had to cope with two significant alterations. Due to India's commitments for the Asia Cup 2025, star spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also withdrawn from the event, while Jurel's illness has compelled the selectors to bring in Wadkar. Pacer Yash Thakur, who was previously on the list of standby players, has been named as his substitute as a result. The squad will continue to be led by Rajat Patidar, who played a captain's knock in the quarterfinal.

Updated Central Zone team for the 2025 Duleep Trophy:

Sanjeet Desai, Yash Thakur, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Rajat Patidar (C), Akshay Wadkar, Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, and Sanjeet Desai. (Mahipal Lomror, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Madhav Kaushik, Kuldeep Sen, and Upendra Yadav are standbys.)

Watch this space for more cricket news and updates.