International Duo Mohammed Siraj And Devdutt Padikkal Strengthen South Zone Summit Lineup

Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj have been added to the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2026 final against East Zone, scheduled to be played from September 6 to 10 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Both players are travelling directly to the tournament from India's recently concluded two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which the Indian team won 1-0, with their inclusion reflecting the team management's broader intent to keep frontline Test cricketers in competitive match practice between international assignments.

Padikkal was among the standout performers on the Sri Lanka tour, delivering a Player-of-the-Series performance in which he accumulated 328 runs across three innings while batting at number three, including two centuries. Siraj, meanwhile, returned four wickets in each of the two Tests played in Sri Lanka, arriving at the Duleep final in strong bowling rhythm. His presence is expected to considerably strengthen a South Zone pace attack that will be tested over five days on a Chennai surface, particularly given that veteran opener KL Rahul has also been asked to feature for South Zone in the final, having no other competitive cricket scheduled until India's ODI series against the West Indies begins on September 27.

South Zone does carry a slight concern within its seam bowling unit heading into the final. Vidwath Kaverappa, who was the side's standout bowler during their semi-final victory over North Zone, has picked up a niggle ahead of the title clash. To provide additional cover, the squad has added left-arm pacer C.V. Milind, giving the team management a further option in case Kaverappa is unavailable for the match. The participation of several other high-profile India players remains subject to approval from head coach Gautam Gambhir, given that South Zone captain Tilak Varma, East Zone captain Ishan Kishan, and East Zone vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are all part of India's squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which begins on September 13 in New Delhi, just three days after the Duleep final's scheduled conclusion.

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All three are currently expected to feature in the Chennai final, though a late request from the Indian team management to report early for national duty could alter those plans. Following his unbeaten innings of 116 and 51 that helped guide South Zone to victory over North Zone in the semi-final, Varma expressed his desire to feature in the final, noting that the gap before India's Afghanistan assignment would give him sufficient time to both rest and prepare. "I would love to play the final.

This match has just finished, but I think the Afghanistan game is on the 13th. I am ready to play the final. After that we have two days of break in between, and if I report on the 11th also I can practise for a day and from there I can go and play the match," Varma said following the semi-final, as quoted by Cricinfo. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar is also expected to travel to Chennai to watch the final in person, according to reports, adding further significance to a fixture that has already drawn considerable attention given the number of current India internationals expected to feature across both sides in the closely contested domestic championship match.

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