South Zone Announces Full 15‑Member Squad for Dilip Trophy in Bangalore

Visakhapatnam, August 2 – The South Zone cricket team has released its complete 15‑player lineup for the Dilip Trophy, which will be contested at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru between 23 August and 10 September.

Captaining the side is Tilak Verma, who recently featured in India’s victorious T20 series against Zimbabwe. Ricky Bhuvi, the Andhra batting mainstay, will act as vice‑captain. The coaching staff is headed by level‑2 coach M.N. Vikram Varma.

The squad is a balanced mix of experience and youth. Veteran opening batsman Karun Nair returns to the side, while Karnataka’s all‑rounder R. Smruthi and Hyderabad’s promising hitter K.M. Himatega add depth to the batting order. Goa’s power‑hitter Abhinav Tejarana, former India A pacer Sheikh Rashid and wicket‑keeper N. Jagadish round out the batting unit.

The bowling department features left‑arm spinner Tanay Tyagarajan, leg‑spinner Shreyas Gopal and a pace quartet comprising K.S. Teja, Tripurana Vijay, Vidwath Kaverappa and MD Nidhish.

Having reached the previous season’s final, South Zone receives an automatic berth into the semi‑finals. Their opening match on 30 August will be against the winner of Quarter‑final 2 at COE Ground 2.

Selection panel chair R.V. Chandramouli Prasad oversaw the meeting, which included representatives from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Hyderabad, Goa, Puducherry, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Full squad list: N Tilak Verma (c), Ricky Bhuvi (vc), Abhinav Tejarana, Sheikh Rashid, K.M. Himatega, R. Smruthi, N. Jagadish (wk), Karun Nair, Tanay Tyagarajan, Shreyas Gopal, K.S. Teja, T. Vijay, Vidwath Kaverappa, H. Aman Khan, MD Nidhish.