Iyer, Jaiswal in strong West Zone line-up against Central Zone

A strong West Zone side led by Shardul Thakur will take on Central Zone in the semi-final of the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy at Ground B of BCCI's Centre of Excellence, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

While Central qualified on the basis of a first-innings lead in the quarter-final against North East Zone, they are up against a much stronger West Zone side, which includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tushar Deshpande.

West will be without Sarfaraz Khan, though, after he suffered a quadriceps injury in the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. On the bowling front, Thakur and Deshpande will lead the fast-bowling attack, while Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian are the premier spinners.

Central, meanwhile, will be without Kuldeep Yadav, who has been named in India's Asia Cup squad. They will also be without their captain, Dhruv Jurel, who had also missed the quarter-final with a groin niggle. Vidarbha wicketkeeper-batter Akshay Wadkar has been added to the squad in Jurel's absence, while Rajat Patidar is expected to lead the side.

The Central batters had a decent outing against North East Zone, with Patidar and Shubham Sharma cracking centuries, while Danish Malewar scored a double-ton. Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Harsh Dubey will be key in restricting the West batters.

West made a direct entry to the semi-final by virtue of playing the Duleep Trophy final the last time the tournament was played in the zonal format in the 2023-24 season. The semi-final will not be televised.

The Duleep Trophy semi-final will be Shreyas Iyer first competitive game since the IPL 2025 final. He didn't find a place in India's Asia Cup squad despite a superb batting performance for Punjab Kings. Now, with a busy domestic and international season ahead, he will want some red-ball runs to strengthen his case for a return to India's international squads.

Rajat Patidar began his 2025-26 domestic season with a 96-ball 125 in the first innings of the Duleep quarter-final and followed up with a 72-ball 66 in the second. Against a more challenging West Zone bowling unit, Patidar will be one of Central's most important batters.

Baroda's Shivalik Sharma replaced Sarfaraz in the West Zone squad. He is likely to bat in the middle order, with Jaiswal, Gaikwad, Iyer and Harvik Desai in the top four.

West Zone (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Harvik Desai (wk), 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Shivalik Sharma, 6 Jaymeet Patel, 7 Shardul Thakur (capt), 8 Shams Mulani, 9 Tanush Kotian, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Dharmendrasinh Jadeja/Arzan Nagwaswala

Aryan Juyal retired hurt after scoring 60 in the first innings of Central's quarter-final and didn't return to the field for the rest of the match, with Railways wicketkeeper-batter Upendra Yadav filling in for him. If Juyal doesn't get fit in time, one of Upendra or Wadkar could get a chance. Rajasthan left-arm spinner Manav Suthar is also expected to come in for Kuldeep.

Central Zone (probable): 1 Aayush Pandey, 2 Danish Malewar, 3 Shubham Sharma, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Upendra Yadav/Akshay Wadkar (wk), 6 Yash Rathod, 7 Deepak Chahar, 8 Harsh Dubey, 9 Manav Suthar, 10 Aditya Thakare, 11 Khaleel Ahmed

The pitch at Ground B of the BCCI's CoE was excellent for batting for the quarter-finals, and a similar surface could be expected for the semi-final too. There has been rain in and around Bengaluru for the last few weeks, and while rain isn't forecast for the opening day, it is expected to be cloudy, which could aid fast bowlers.