Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma has been appointed as the captain of South Zone for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, scheduled to begin on August 28 in Bengaluru. The 22-year-old, who has featured in 25 T20Is and four ODIs for India, has recently impressed in English county cricket. Representing Hampshire, Tilak scored 100, 56, 47, and 112 in four innings, showcasing his consistent form with the bat. The left-hander’s appointment comes as South Zone and West Zone received direct semifinal entries. The tournament marks the return of the zonal format, replacing the India A, B, C, and D model used in recent editions. This time, zone-wise selectors, not the national panel, have picked the squads. Read also: Watch: Stokes’ Draw Offer Snubbed by Jadeja, Gill Laughs Inside Dressing Room Kerala Players Shine, Duleep Trophy to Return to Classic Format Four Kerala players, including Mohammed Azharuddeen, who has been named vice-captain, earned selection after the state’s strong performance in the Ranji Trophy. Others from Kerala in the 16-member squad are MD Nidheesh, Basil NP, and Salman Nizar. Experienced names like Tamil Nadu batter Narayan Jagadeesan, left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore, and Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal also made the cut. India pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar, who represents Karnataka in domestic cricket, will lead the bowling unit. Karnataka’s R. Smaran has been listed as a standby. The top scorer for his state in the last Ranji season with 516 runs, Smaran had missed the IPL due to an injury in May. The tournament will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds in Bengaluru. North Zone will meet East Zone, and Central Zone will face North-East Zone in the quarterfinals. SOUTH ZONE SQUAD South Zone squad: Tilak Varma (captain), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vice-captain), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, Narayan Jagadeesan, T. Vijay, R. Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, and Snehal Kauthankar. Stand-by: Mohit Redkar, R Smaran, Ankit Sharma, Edhen Apple Tom, Andre Siddarth, Shaikh Rasheed.