Young Arjun Tendulkar has been named in South Zone’s squad for the Deodhar Trophy which is scheduled to begin on July 24. Experienced Mayank Agarwal will be leading the South Zone side which comprises the likes of Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rohan Kunnummal in the team.

Arjun Tendulkar made his debut for the Mumbai Indian in the IPL 2023 had been given an opportunity in 2023 and has done reasonably well for the franchise. He also had a good domestic season with Goa and a decent outing in the  Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022, picking up ten wickets at an economy rate of just 5.69 runs per over in seven matches. A capable all-rounder who is getting better by the day and it looks like the 23-year-old has a long career ahead of him.

The top order comprises the experienced Mayank Agarwal, KB Arun Karthik alongside Rohan Kunnummal and Devedutt Padikkal to give them a good start to the innings, while their fast bowling duty will be carried by young Arjun Tendulkar alongside Karnataka duo Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar.

Though Skipper Mayank Agarwal had a poor IPL season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, he played exceptionally well in Ranji Trophy 2022-23 scoring 990 runs in just 13 innings for Karnataka at a brilliant average of 82.5. The Indian opener will aim to make a step closer to the Indian team by performing well in the Duleep Trophy final and Deodhar Trophy to make it into the Indian squad.

On the Notable omissions Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar didn’t find his place in the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy even after his fine form in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League, while young Sai Sudarshan has named as a reserve as the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.

Sai Sudharshan has been exceptional in domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu in 2022, doing brilliantly in all three formats of the game, and has carried on his form into the cash-rich league this season as he scored 362 runs in the eight matches he played in IPL 2023, which helped him to make into the India squad for the emerging Asia Cup.

South Zone squad: Mayank Agarwal (captain), Rohan Kunnummal (vice-captain), N Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Rohit Rayadu, KB Arun Karthik, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, V Kaverappa, V Vyshak, Kaushik V, Mohit Redkar, Sijomon Joseph, Arjun Tendulkar, Sai Kishore