Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Siraj To Play In Duleep Trophy Final For South Zone

By Pramit Meher

**Duleep Trophy Final: Padikkal, Siraj Fit for South Zone Clash** Quick one for the cricket heads out there 👇 Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj are cleared to face East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final, kicking off **Sep 6**. Both just finished a tough 2-Test away stint in Sri Lanka (India won 1-0), so from a workload mgmt perspective, their availability is a nice bonus. 🔹 **Padikkal** – Player of the Series with 328 runs in just 3 Inn, including 2 centuries. Elite SR and clearly the star Bat right now. 🔹 **Siraj** – Pulled 4 wkts across the series despite spin dominating in Galle & Colombo. His pace attack was a rare bright spot. One gap in the report: not clear whom the two have actually replaced in the squad. Worth watching. **The T20I Dilemma** 🤔 Here's where it gets interesting from a load-management angle. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan & Tilak Varma are India's T20I regulars, and the final runs until **Sep 10** — just 3 days before the T20I series vs Afghanistan in New Delhi (game on the 13th). Tilak was vocal about wanting to play the redball final after his stellar 116 + 51 in the semifinal, offering to report on the 11th to get in a practice day. Smart thinking — but the team management may pull them if workload is a concern. **Semifinal Recap:** - South beat North by chasing 181 (Tilak 51 after his 116) - East beat defending champs Central by chasing 159 Bottom line: exciting final on paper, but the player availability question — especially around the T20I fixtures — could shake things up. Keep an eye on the final squad announcement. 🏏 #DuleepTrophy #Cricket #IndiaNews Source: Cricketnmore