Duleep Trophy semi-final, Central Zone vs West Zone: Preview
What's the story
The second semi-final of the 2025/26 Duleep Trophy will see Central Zone team take on West Zone. The match is scheduled to be played at Ground B of BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, starting September 4. Shardul Thakur will captain the West Zone side, which features top players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, among others. Meanwhile, the Rajat Patidar-led Central Zone will miss the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel.
Match conditions
Pitch report and conditions
The Ground B pitch saw plenty of runs in the quarter-final. Batters will be aided in the impending semi-final too. As per the weather forecast, Day 1 is likely to be cloudy. Therefore, the captain winning the toss could hand the red cherry to the bowlers. Notably, live-streaming and broadcasting are not available for the 2025 Duleep Trophy semi-finals. Only the final will be streamed live.
Team composition
Central Zone will be without Kuldeep, Jurel
Central Zone, who qualified for the semi-finals through a first-innings lead against North East Zone, will be without Kuldeep Yadav. He will travel to the UAE for India's Asia Cup campaign. Dhruv Jurel, their captain, is also missing due to illness. While Akshay Wadkar from Vidarbha has replaced Jurel, Rajat Patidar will continue to lead the side.
Information
A look at CZONE squad
Central Zone: Rajat Patidar (captain), Aryan Juyal, Danish Malewar, Sanjeet Desai, Aditya Thakare, Deepak Chahar, Saransh Jain, Ayush Pandey, Shubham Sharma, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, and Akshay Wadkar. Standbys: Madhav Kaushik, Yash Thakur, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Mahipal Lomror, Kuldeep Sen, and Upendra Yadav.
Team adjustments
West Zone also have injury concerns
On the other hand, West Zone made a direct entry into the semi-finals by virtue of their performance in the 2023/24 season, the last zonal tournament. Although the side will have the firepower of Jaiswal, Shreyas, Gaikwad, and Thakur, they will be without Sarfaraz Khan. The Indian batter suffered a quadriceps injury during the Buchi Babu Trophy in Chennai. Baroda's Shivalik Sharma has replaced Sarfaraz in the West Zone squad.
Information
A look at WZONE squad
West Zone: Shardul Thakur (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai (wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Shivalik Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wicket-keeper), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmandrasinh Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, and Arzan Nagwaswala. Standbys: Mahesh Pithiya, Shivalik Shama, Mukesh Choudhary, Siddharath Desai, Chintan Gaja, Urvil Patel, and Musheer Khan.
Spotlight
Players in spotlight
Shreyas Iyer is set to play his first competitive match since the IPL 2025 final for Punjab Kings (PBKS). He owns a staggering 6,363 First-Class runs at 48.57. Patidar, who scored two 50-plus scores in the quarter-final (125 and 66), will also have the spotlight. Indian opener Jaiswal will return from a long break following a successful England tour. Ruturaj Gaikwad would aim to impress the selectors ahead of India's home Test season.