Shubman Gill to lead North Zone in Duleep Trophy after stellar England tour

Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill was on Thursday named captain of the North Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, beginning August 28, less than three weeks after he led a young side to a thrilling 2-2 draw against England in a gruelling five-Test series.

The 24-year-old opener, who took over Test captaincy following the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, was one of the standout performers on the England tour.

Gill led from the front, amassing 754 runs in the series -- the second-highest by an Indian in a single Test series after Sunil Gavaskar's 774 in the 1971 tour of the West Indies -- as India levelled the series 2-2 for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

Gill's appointment as North Zone skipper means he will be back in the domestic fold shortly after the energy-sapping England tour, which concluded on August 4.

North Zone face East Zone in their Duleep Trophy opener on August 28, with the final scheduled for September 11 -- overlapping with India's Asia Cup campaign, set to begin September 10 in the UAE.

India begin their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE in Dubai on September 10, followed by the marquee clash against Pakistan on September 14.

In the event Gill or teammates Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana get selected in the national squad for the Asia Cup or concurrent series, the selectors have named Shubman Rohilla (SSCB), Gurnoor Brar, and Anul Thakral as backups.

Gill will lead a 15-member squad that includes strong names like India left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Anshul Kamboj, who made his Test debut in the fourth Test against England.

Arshdeep, though part of the squad, didn't feature in the playing XI.

The Duleep Trophy will mark the start of the 2025-26 Indian domestic season, returning to its traditional zonal format.

North Zone Squad:

Shubman Gill (captain; PCA), Ankit Kumar (vice-captain, HCA), Shubham Khajuria (JKCA), Ayush Badoni (DDCA), Yash Dhull (DDCA), Ankit Kalsi (HPCA), Nishant Sindhu (HCA), Sahil Lotra (JKCA), Mayank Dagar (HPCA), Yudhvir Singh Charak (JKCA), Arshdeep Singh (PCA), Harshit Rana (DDCA), Anshul Kamboj (HCA), Auqib Nabi (JKCA), Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wicketkeeper; JKCA).