Narayan Jagadeesan continues his prolific form for the India A team as well. After the stumps of Day 2, the opener remains unbeaten for 50 off 95, powered by 5 fours and one over boundary.

Against Australia A team's first-innings mammoth 532 runs, the home team needs someone who can remain rock solid at one side of the crease. So far, Jagadeesan has proved to be the most prominent in such a situation. He was in prolific form during the Duleep Trophy 2025 for South Zone. He played a couple of key knocks for his team in the semifinal of the tournament against North Zone. The top-order batter scored 197 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten 52 in the second innings to confirm a ticket for the final match. In the final, South Zone felt the absence of Narayan Jagadeesan very much, mostly during their batting parts.

The batter is mostly known for his technical batting abilities, and as a deserving candidate, he got a call to join the India A team for the series against Australia A. As of now, the Tamil Nadu-born batter batted confidently at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

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Narayan Jagadeesan remains rock solid on the track 

The Indian bowling line-up with Prasidh Krishna and Khaleel Ahmed barely able to disturb the visiting team batters. With a couple of hundreds and three fifty-plus scores, they collected 532 runs for only 6 wickets and declared the innings. Now, it is time for the Indian batters to show their class.

Jagadeesan and Abhimanyu Easwaran started things off well from India A in a well-organized manner. Easwaran missed his half-century for only 6 runs; India A lost their first wicket on 88. Sai Sudharsan walked into the middle to join Jagadeesan, and they will continue their partnership tomorrow as well. 

Major setback for South Zone ahead of the Duleep Trophy 2025 final, as they had to release Narayan Jagadeesan and Devdutt Padikkal; both of the batters have been named in the India A squad for the Australia A series.

South Zone announced the replacements of Jagadeesan and Padikkal for their summit clash with Central Zone, starting September 11. Andre Siddarth and Smaran Ravichandran enter into the squad for the final match as the replacements. The unavailability of Jagadeesan and Padikkal is considered a major blow for the team, as both of them were in excellent form. Jagadeesan was the Player of the Match in the semifinal fixture against North Zone for scoring 197 and 52* in the first and second innings, respectively. The 197-run knock proved to be one of the decisive factors of the semifinal, as South Zone was able to gain a 175-run lead in the first innings.

Padikkal emerged as the second-highest run getter for the team in the knockout match with his first-innings 57-run knock, and in the second innings he remained unbeaten for 16 while batting at the number 3 position.

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Though their replacements, Andre Siddarth and Smaran Ravichandran, were in fine touch during their recent domestic matches. In the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, Siddarth claimed 612 runs at an average of 68 in 12 innings for Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, Smaran, with 516 runs at an average of 64.50 in 10 encounters, was Karnataka’s leading run-scorer. 

South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2025 final:

Azharuddin (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Ricky Bhui (Vice-Captain), Smaran Ravichandran, Kale M, Shaik Rasheed, Tanmay Agarwal, Salman Nizar, Andre Siddarth, Tanay Thyagarajan, Gurjabneet Singh, Nidheesh, Kaushik V, Ankit Sharma, T Vijay, Basil NP

Stand-bys: Mohit Redkar (Goa), Snehal Kautankar (Goa), Eden Apple Tom (Kerala), Ajay Rohera (Puducherry), G. Aniketh Reddy (Hyderabad)

On the opening day of the semifinal round in the Duleep Trophy 2025, South Zone enjoyed a fine time with the bat thanks to the unbeaten 148-run knock from Narayan Jagadeesan and a half-century from Devdutt Padikkal. On the other hand, West Zone smashed 363/6 with Ruturaj Gaikwad clubbing 184 against Central Zone at the two grounds of the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. 

South Zone stretched their fantastic batting from the opening day and got bundled out for 536 runs in 169.2 overs to end the second day’s play. Narayan Jagadeesan extended their knock of 197 runs in 352 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and a couple of sixes before getting run out.

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Ricky Bhui celebrated a fine half-century and ended with 54 runs in 131 balls, thanks to three boundaries and two sixes. At number three, Tanay Thyagarajan drilled 58 runs in 116 balls, shouldering on four boundaries as they got bundled out for 536. Nishant Sindhu, who had a long bowling of 47.2 overs, picked up five wickets in the innings.  

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 2

West Zone, on the other hand, ended with 438 runs in the first innings. It was a fabulous batting show from them after being reduced to 10/2 in the fourth over. Tanush Kotian ended with 76 runs in 166 balls at a strike rate of 45.68 with six boundaries.

Captain of the West Zone, the pace bowling all-rounder, Shardul Thalur, creamed 64 runs in 98 balls to take them to 438 runs in 108 overs. In reply, Central Zone displayed a great batting show with 229/2 with all of the batsmen crossing the 40-run mark. Danish Malewar ended with 76 runs while Shubham Sharma remained unbeaten on 60 runs in 148 balls. They still trail by 209 runs in the second innings of the fixture.

Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 2

South Zone- 536/10 (Narayan Jagadeesan 197, Tanay Thyagarajan 58, Ricky Bhu 54, Nishant Sindhu 5/125) against North Zone

Central Zone- 229/2 (Danish Malewar 76, Shubham Sharma 60*, Arzan Nagwaswalla 1/15) trail West Zone 438/10 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 76, Shardul Thakur 64, Saransh Jain 3/121) by 209 runs.

During the semifinal round of the Duleep Trophy 2025, West Zone locked horns with Central at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground B in Bengaluru. On the other hand, South Zone met North Zone during the first semifinal at the A-ground in Bengaluru. Some of the stars of the Indian Test team turned up for the action in the middle. 

West Zone’s captain, Shardul Thakur, won the toss and decided to bat first on the solid batting surface. He would have thought of changing the decision when they found themselves 10/2 in the fourth ball. But Ruturaj Gaikwad held the ship, and by the time he ended with 184 runs in 206 balls, they were in a great spot.

See Also: Star KKR batter celebrates century during Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal

At number, Aarya Desai contributed with 39 runs. Tanush Kotian, who remained unbeaten on 65 runs by the end of the opening day’s play with 65 runs in 121 balls, thanks to five boundaries at a strike rate of 53.72, put up a fine partnership of 148 runs for the sixth wicket as they ended the day with 363/6 in 87 overs.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 1

It felt like an absolutely different surface for the contest between the South Zone and the North Zone. Ankit Kumar won the toss and decided to put South in. They made two changes to the side from the quarter-finals as Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh made way out due to their national commitment to the Asia Cup 2025.

The 103-run opening stand between Tanmay Agarwal and wicket-keeper Narayan Jagadeesan provided them a fine platform. The latter stayed undefeated for 148 runs in 260 balls at a strike rate of 56.92, thanks to 13 boundaries and a couple of sixes. The number four batter, Devdutt Padikkal, drilled 57 runs in 71 balls with seven boundaries.

South Zone ended the opening day with 297/3 in 81 overs. The two wickets came from Nishant Sindhu as South Zone will aim to continue the same dominance with the bat and end with a huge score on the board.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Semifinal Round: All Scores from Day 1

South Zone- 297/3 (N Jagadeesan 148*, Devdutt Padikkal 57, Nishant Sindhu 2/59) vs North Zone.

West Zone- 363/6 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 184, Tanush Kotian 65*, Saransh Jain 2/109) vs Central Zone.

When Rishabh Pant got injured and was ruled out of the Indian squad for the fifth and final Test of the series against England at the Kennington Oval in South London, the BCCI called Narayan Jagadeesan into the squad, which reflects how the right-handed batter is in the frame to get selected in the squad for the national side’s red-ball format.

Jagadeesan has been a vital member of the Tamil Nadu side in the red-ball events. The 29-year-old has smashed 3373 runs in 79 innings of first-class cricket at an average of 47.50 and a strike rate of 62.40, with the help of 14 half-centuries and 10 centuries at the best score of 321 runs. He must be knocking the door of India's selectors. 

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Jagadeesan, during the semifinal fixture of the Duleep Trophy 2025 between the South Zone and the North Zone side at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru, celebrated his fine 11th century in first-class cricket. When the score was last updated, he remained unbeaten on 110 runs in 199 balls, thanks to 10 boundaries and two sixes.

Narayan Jagadeesan celebrates century during Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal

The 103-run opening stand between the TN batter and Tanmay Agarwal was excellent for South Zone to get a good start in the batting department as they negotiated the new ball bowling of Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj. Tanmay also smacked 43 runs in 99 balls at a strike rate of 43, while the number three batter of the side, Devdutt Padikkal, bagged 57 runs in 71 balls at a strike rate of over 80.

Jagadeesan had a wonderful 2024/25 season in the Ranji Trophy as he finished as the 11th leading run-getter with 674 runs in eight games at an average of 56.16 and a strike rate of 60.94, thanks to five half-centuries and two centuries at the best score of unbeaten 118 runs.

Jagadeesan, with this best batting performance, can get into the Indian side for the upcoming four Tests against West Indies and South Africa at home. If he doesn’t, Tamil Nadu will hope to see the batter adding truckloads of runs by the end of the red-ball season.

The replacement for Rishabh Pant has arrived at The Oval and joined the team in the nets already. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video regarding this. A specially edited video published to show some glimpses of Narayan Jagadeesan, replacement for Rishabh Pant, during the practice session. Through the video, viewers can watch some of Jagadeesan's copybook defense and stroke makings. Unlike the southpaw's swashbuckling batting style, Jagadeesan is mostly known for his composure and defensive abilities. In the video, cricket fans can witness the rock-solid defensive abilities of the emerging keeper-batter. 

Jagadeesan's domestic batting stats are incredible. In 52 first-class matches, he has 3373 runs at a healthy average of 47.50 with 14 half-centuries and 10 centuries. In the previous Ranji Trophy season, he piled up 674 runs in eight matches at an impressive average of 56.16, with two 100s and five 50s. In the Ranji Trophy 2023-24, Jagadeesan scored 816 runs at an average of 74.18, including a triple and a double century. 

During the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, the vice captain of Team India, Rishabh Pant, sustained multiple injuries; the last one proved severe. A full-length delivery from Chris Woakes landed straight on his right foot while he tried to play a reverse sweep. With a swelling on the right foot, Pant was not able to carry his batting at that moment and retired hurt.

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Later he came to bat and completed another half century in Tests. In the second innings, he did not appear at Old Trafford to bat. BCCI informed that Pant would not take part in the rest of the series. Without any choice left, the board went to call up Narayan Jagadeesan. 

N Jagadeesan joins the team for his first training session! 👍 👍#TeamIndia | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/xMduwys2E6

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 29, 2025

Narayan Jagadeesan to play the 5th Test?

The series is on the line. At The Oval, at any cost, Team India has to win the match. A draw or defeat will help England to claim the title. So far, there is no confirmation about Jagadeesan's participation in the match. In the absence of Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel did the wicketkeeping job. He did well behind the stumps by being involved in some of the crucial wickets. KL Rahul also can keep. So, the team has multiple options for the wicketkeeping spot right now. 

At the end of the Manchester Test, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant will miss the last Test of the ongoing five-match Test series in England, and also confirmed the replacement of the player for the forthcoming Test match. 

During the first innings of the Manchester Test, Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant was injured on the opening day while batting. Attempting to awkward reverse-sweep to English pacer Chris Woakes, Pant's missed time shot hit his right foot. On the broadcasting video, it was clearly visible that his foot was swollen and bleeding. It was very painful for him as he was forced to retire hurt. 

Although the medical report confirmed his fractured foot, Pant returned to bat on the second day and resumed his innings from 37 runs. Despite being hardly able to run, Pant fought bravely and scored 54 runs before Jofra Archer bowled him. 

Pant even arrived at the stadium on crutches on the final day of the Manchester Test, and he was reportedly ready to bat on the final day if required. However, the Indian batters' brave fight denied any forced responsibility from injured Pant, who obviously did not keep wicket in this Test match.  

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Narayan Jagadeesan replaced Rishabh Pant for The Oval Test

At the end of the Manchester Test, the BCCI has confirmed that Pant has been ruled out of the final Test due to a fractured right foot. Narayan Jagadeesan, the 29-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper, has replaced Pant for the last Test of the series. 

🚨 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗱 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 🚨

Rishabh Pant ruled out of fifth Test due to injury; N Jagadeesan named replacement.

All The Details 🔽 #TeamIndia | #ENGvIND

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 27, 2025

While the Manchester Test was the fourth game of the five-match Test series between the hosts England and the visitors India, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, the visitors India are trailing this series by 2-1 after the fourth Test. The Oval will host the final Test of the series, starting on Thursday (July 31). England need a draw result to win their first Test series against India since 2021, and India must win the last Test only to draw the Test series. 

Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh in the updated fifth Test squad

Indian pacers Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh were ruled out of the Manchester Test due to their injuries, while the injured pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was out of the remainder of the Test series. However, both Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh have been shown available for the upcoming fifth Test of the Test series in England.

Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025: India's updated squad for The Oval Test

Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Arshdeep Singh, N Jagadeesan (WK).

Rishabh Pant came to bat on Day 2 at Old Trafford with an injured right foot. Reports suggested, with that fractured foot, the vice captain of India's Test team is ruled out from the 5th and the last match of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. But the formal announcement regarding this has yet to come.

In a recent report, published by Cricbuzz, it is claimed that not Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat, but Narayan Jagadeesan is all set to join Team India for the remaining game of the series. The board and the management inquired about Ishan Kishan, but he is not available, the report claimed. KS Bharat, another keeper batter who has experience playing for India and currently is in England for Dulwich CC, was not considered. After looking at several options for a suitable replacement for Rishabh Pant, the Indian team management finally decided to call up N. Jagadeesan, a keeper batter from Tamil Nadu.

"The right-handed keeper batter from Tamil Nadu is almost certain to be added to the squad. An announcement is expected soon," the report suggested. The 29-year-old is expected to join Team India in England ahead of the 5th Test.

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Impressive performer in domestic cricket 

Jagadeesan's domestic batting stats are incredible. In 52 first-class matches, he has 3373 runs at a healthy average of 47.50 with 14 half-centuries and 10 centuries. In the previous Ranji Trophy season, he piled up 674 runs in eight matches at an impressive average of 56.16, with two hundreds and five fifties. In the Ranji Trophy 2023-24, Jagadeesan scored 816 runs at an average of 74.18, including a triple and a double century. 

India has been struggling with injury from the 3rd Test of the series. In that Test match, Pant injured his finger. Then reports came about the injuries of Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Pant now fractured his foot, Arshdeep has an injury in his finger, Reddy sustained a knee injury, and Akash has a groin injury. 

While Royal Challengers Bengaluru were playing their crucial 13th match of the IPL 2025 against SunRisers Hyderabad in Lucknow, Jitesh Sharma took the captaincy role in the absence of the regular captain Rajat Patidar. As Patidar is injured, we are checking here the top three names who can replace the RCB skipper for the remainder of the IPL 2025, including the Playoffs.

During their match against Chennai Super Kings before the IPL 2025 suspension, RCB captain Rajat Patidar suffered from a finger injury. While there is news of improving status, Patidar missed the match against SRH, although he was in the Impact subs squad. There is no confirmation story about the RCB regular captain's complete fitness. If he is unfortunately ruled out of the tournament, it will surely be a big blow for RCB. 

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IPL 2025: 3 players who can replace RCB captain Rajat Patidar

Harvik Desai: Harvik Desai was unsold in the IPL 2025 Auction. The 25-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper-batter is yet to make his IPL debut. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, Desai scored 323 runs in eight innings with an average of 40.37 and a strike rate of 152.35, including three half-centuries. In his 35 T20s, the right-handed batter has recorded 1014 runs, including one century and seven half-centuries.  

Mohammed Azharuddeen: Uncapped Mohammed Azharuddeen is also waiting for his IPL debut, who was also unsold in the latest IPL auction. In the IPL 2021 auction, RCB bought him for INR 20 lakhs, but yet to make his IPL debut. While he has recorded one T20 century, he was the first Kerala cricketer to record a century in the Ranji Trophy Semi-finals history during the 2024-25 season. 

Narayan Jagadeesan: The highest run-scorer in List A cricket history, Narayan Jagadeesan, is now a big name in domestic cricket, especially in first-class and List A formats. He has played 13 IPL matches (for Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders), last time in the 2023 season, and scored 162 runs with the highest score of 39 not out. During the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 preliminary quarter-final, he created history by hitting six consecutive fours in an over. 

The Delhi Capitals (DC) released 11 players before the IPL 2024 auction. They have a budget of 28.95 crores and nine spots available. DC may also sign four foreign players, which is an essential factor.

A few holes in their roster must be filled by selecting the correct combination of players in the IPL 2024 auction. So, here’s a list of the top three likely Delhi Capitals choices in the next mini-auction. 

• Narayan Jagadeeshan

N Jagadeesan was a Kolkata Knight Riders member in the IPL 2023. The Tamil Nadu player saw little action in a squad full of wicketkeepers and openers. He has scored just a mere 89 runs in his six-match campaign.

Given Rishabh Pant’s recuperation, the Delhi Capitals management might consider him one of the choices for their wicketkeeping needs. He is also a safe keeper behind the wickets, and providing Jagadeesan a continuous opportunity to demonstrate his goods will be something to look out for. 

• Murugan Ashwin

Despite some solid performances in the IPL, Murugan Ashwin hasn’t got the proper scope to display his spin talents, especially given his prior affiliations with former organisations. Ashwin has 35 wickets in 44 matches with an economy of 8.01.

His best season came in the IPL 2020 when he took ten wickets in nine games. Among the many Indian spinners, Ashwin has struggled to carve out a place for himself in the IPL. As a result, it is a positive factor for the Delhi Capitals to leverage him for their long-term spin requirements and aid their leading players, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.

• Tristan Stubbs

The Delhi Capitals have dropped Phil Salt and Sarfaraz Khan from their team, and they want at least two wicketkeeper bats to replace Rishabh Pant. Pant’s health is questionable, and DC want a middle-order hitter like Stubbs, who can be explosive and keep wickets.

Stubbs has drastically improved and can be deadly with the willow, and also providing support to the budding wicketkeeper, Abhishek Porel. Stubbs was with the Mumbai Indians (MI) but did not have as many opportunities. He is a versatile batter who can bowl useful off-spin, depending on the situation.