Dhruv Shorey steered North Zone's charge against North East Zone with a composed century on the first day of the four-day Duleep Trophy quarter-final.
The BCCI working committe cleared their participation as the sixth team in the tournament.
The Indian cricket team is preparing for its upcoming three-match series against Afghanistan, with Jasprit Bumrah set to rejoin training after recovering from injury. The team's net session saw Washington Sundar working hard, while concerns over player injuries have led to the BCCI considering the removal of senior physio Kamlesh Jain. Pace bowling coach Morne Morkel was also absent due to visa issues.
Manish Pandey justified his reputation of being the most sought after uncapped Indian player as he smashed his way to an unbeaten 203 not out as South Zone notched up 416 for eight against Central Zone on the first day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final being played at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal.
It was learnt that once Kishan conveyed his decision, Tripura selector Jayanta Dey wanted Wriddhiman Saha and he was also contacted.
The BCCI has announced the schedule for the 2026-27 domestic cricket season, with the Ranji Trophy being played in two phases and the Duleep Trophy kicking things off in August.
Chasing a daunting 678 for victory, South Zone squandered the fine start given by their openers Robin Uthappa (94) and M Vijay (63) to end the fourth and penultimate day of the Duleep Trophy final against West Zone at a precarious 232 for four in Chennai on Sunday. Still 446 runs adrift of an unlikely win, the hosts had captain and first innings centurion Subramaniam Badrinath (35 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (27 not out) at the crease at stumps.
The Indian captain is uncertain for the Duleep Trophy match between East Zone and Central Zone on February 15 due to a side strain.
Manav Suthar grabbed seven wickets to engineer India D's batting collapse and fashion a four-wicket win for India C in the Duleep Trophy in Anantapur on Saturday.
Captain Shreyas Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal struck half-centuries to help India D stretch their lead against India C on the second day of their Duleep Trophy match.
The match coincides with the three-day camp for the Indian team to prepare for the seven-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
The BCCI's Tours and Programmes and Fixtures Committee felt an NCA team lacks the experience to play at the inter-zonal tournament.
The left arm seamer has been advised by team physio John Gloster rest his side strain.
Azharuddeen was the vice-captain of the side, and now that role has been handed to Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan.
Play was called off at 2 pm IST.
The Central Zone vs Bangladesh match scheduled to be held in Jaipur from March 1, would now be held at the Railways ground in Delhi.
The Indian captain who is nursing a side strain has been advised rest by doctors.
With unrelenting bad weather playing spoilsport, North Zone and South Zone were declared joint winners of the Duleep Trophy after the fifth day's play of the final was called off without a ball being bowled in Kochi, on Monday.
Earlier, India B were all out for 282 in their first innings in reply to D's first essay of 349.
The pace trio of Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini did the damage with the ball as India B outclassed India A by 76 runs in the Duleep Trophy.
The absence of big names from both the teams notwithstanding, West Zone will enjoy a slight edge over North in the four-day quarter-final of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament, in Chennai, on Saturday.
India, having already secured the T20 series against Afghanistan, is likely to experiment with its playing XI in the third and final match in New Delhi. This provides an opportunity for players like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and others on the bench to get game time before the Asian Games, while Afghanistan aims for an improved performance to boost morale.
Shreyas Iyer, aiming to make a comeback to India's Test squad, fell for a second successive duck in the ongoing tournament.
Washington Sundar spun a web around the India Blue batsmen for his successive five-wicket haul of the match as India Red emerged champions of the Duleep Trophy with a 163-run victory, in Lucknow, on Thursday.
Suresh Raina has been named captain of the India Blue team for the Duleep Trophy, which will be held in Kanpur and Lucknow from September 7 to 29, providing him a platform to make a return to the Indian team.
Yuvraj Singh carried on from where he left off as he completed a well-deserved double century to put North in a comfortable position at stumps on the second day of their Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone in Hyderabad.
Middle-order batsman Baba Indrajith struck a gutsy unbeaten 120 as India Red finished at 291 for 9 against India Blue at stumps on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy encounter, in Lucknow, on Wednesday.
East Zone kept their date with history as they crushed Central Zone by an innings and 20 runs to win their maiden Duleep Trophy title in an emphatic manner in Indore.
Disciplined show with both bat and ball helped Central Zone qualify for the final of the Duleep Trophy after they took the crucial first-innings lead against defending champions South Zone, on the final day in Chennai.
Central will face West Zone in the semi-final at the Alur grounds from July 5. In the second semifinal, North Zone will take on South Zone at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Openers Abhinav Mukund and Robin Uthappa bulldozed the North Zone bowlers to script a brilliant run chase as South Zone clinched the Duleep Trophy with a day to spare in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Abhinav Mukund (164) and Amit Verma (148) struck hundreds as South Zone inched towards an outright win over Central Zone at the end of third day's play in the semi-final of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament in Hyderabad on Friday. Needing 770 runs to win, Central Zone were precariously placed at 73 for two in their second innings at stumps on the penultimate day of the four-day match.
National selectors are set to convene in New Delhi to finalise India's ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming home series against West Indies, with Rishabh Pant's potential white-ball return and Hardik Pandya's fitness being the primary discussion points.
South Zone pacers were brilliantly bellicose while reducing West Zone to 129 for 7
Mumbai youngster Suryakumar Yadav hit a sparkling century under pressure to guide West Zone to a respectable 299 for 7 in the Duleep Trophy match against East Zone, in Valsad, on Friday.
Central Zone bowlers led by captain Shivam Mavi (4/43) silenced the big guns in the West Zone batting line-up to restrict them to 216 for 8.
Ramesh Powar wrecked South Zone with a 10-wicket match haul as West Zone lifted their 17th Duleep Trophy title after overwhelming the hosts by 274 runs in the five-day final in Chennai on Monday.
West Zone took command of the Duleep Trophy final after scoring 459 in the first innings and then reducing South Zone to 106 for 4 by stumps on the second day of the five-day match in Chennai on Friday. Skipper Subramaniam Badrinath, who was unbeaten on 54 at stumps, holds the key to South's fortunes. Keeping him company at stumps was Dinesh Karthik on 5. Earlier, West, resuming at the overnight score of 303-5, were dismissed for 459.
