Rajat Patidar will lead Central Zone‘s title defence during the season-opening Duleep Trophy, with the squad featuring three other India internationals in Rinku Singh, left-arm-spin-bowling allrounder Harsh Dubey and fast bowler Yash Thakur.

Patidar’s Madhya Pradesh team-mate Saransh Jain, who is part of India’s Test squad for the Sri Lanka tour, will lead the spin attack alongside Dubey and Uttar Pradesh legspinner Zeeshan Ansari, who made his red-ball comeback after five years on the recent India A tour of Sri Lanka.

Aman Mokhade has been rewarded for his performances during a breakout 2025-26 Ranji season that earned him an India A call-up. The Vidarbha opener made 760 runs in 11 innings at an average of 76. Like Mokhade, the selectors have also picked Chhattisgarh opener Ayush Pandey, who also made his India A debut in Sri Lanka.

Yash Rathod, another Vidarbha batter with strong credentials over the past two seasons, will be a key part of the middle order alongside Patidar.

Meanwhile, apart from Thakur, the fast-bowling pack involves Vidarbha’s Nachiket Bhute and MP left-arm swing bowler Arshad Khan. UP’s Aryan Juyal is expected to be the first-choice wicketkeeper, with Kunal Singh Rathore named as his understudy.

By virtue of being defending champions, Central Zone have been given a bye in the first round, and will directly slot in for the semi-finals from August 30 where they will meet the winner between East Zone and North East Zone. The tournament otherwise begins on August 23 at the CoE grounds in Bengaluru. The final will be played from September 6.

Central Zone squad for Duleep Trophy

Rajat Patidar (capt), Aryan Juyal (wk), Saransh Jain, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Zeeshan Ansari, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Rinku Singh (vice-captain), Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Kunal Singh Rathod (wk), Yash Thakur, Nachiket Bhute