South Zone defies BCCI directive; excluded contracted stars unlikely to be added

The South Zone selectors have chosen not to follow the BCCI's directive to include centrally contracted players in their Duleep Trophy squad. KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Sai Sudharsan and Prasidh Krishna - already absent from the squad - are unlikely to be added to it for the inter-zonal red-ball championship.

The BCCI had issued its advisory by email to state associations over a month ago, but South Zone officials have opted not to act on it. Sources from the zone made it clear that, for now, they are sticking with the squad announced on July 26. Skipper Tilak Varma remains the only contracted player in the side.

The South Zone officials argue that national selectors should have no role in picking zonal sides and that the BCCI, if at all, should make Ranji Trophy participation mandatory for the contracted players. They further contend that star Indian players can always be included for the matches of India A team. The Duleep Trophy, they say, should remain a platform for Ranji performers.

"Kerala qualified for the Ranji Trophy final (for the first time ever in the competition's history of 90 editions) and lost it narrowly. They had a remarkable season, and their players deserved selection for the Duleep Trophy. If the India players are to be taken into the squad, most Kerala players will not find a place in the zonal side," said a South Zone official.

The 15-member squad comprises four players from Kerala, three from Hyderabad, two each from Andhra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and one each from Pondicherry and Goa. At the selection meeting, a resolution was apparently passed to field only domestic performers for the multi-day competition, and the decision was duly recorded in the committee's minutes.

As runners-up of the previous edition, South Zone have secured a direct entry into the semifinals, beginning September 4. With some time still left before their first game, it remains to be seen whether the zonal officials will relent. However, they maintain that a turnaround is unlikely, given that travel and accommodation arrangements have already been finalized. Lakshmipathy Balaji is the team's head coach.

Other zonal selectors, however, have adhered to the BCCI diktat and included contracted players for the August 28-September 15 tournament in Bengaluru. Central Zone have named Kuldeep Yadav, Rajat Patidar and Dhruv Jurel; East have picked Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Kishan and Akash Deep; West have taken Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan; while North have selected Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.

As earlier reported by Cricbuzz on Saturday morning, Gill is set to miss the tournament in view of illness. A few more withdrawals are not ruled out closer to the tournament.

South Zone squad: Tilak Varma (captain), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vice-captain, wk), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, N Jagadeesan (wk), T Vijay, R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar