The Indian domestic season for 2023/24 would be starting with the Duleep trophy, the inter-zonal competition comprising six teams – North Zone, South Zone, Central Zone, East Zone, West Zone, and North East Zone. The two finalists of the previous season, West Zone and South Zone, would directly play semifinals this time around. The defending champions South Zone has one of the best squads for the tournament. Here are some of the reasons why they could be the eventual winners of the Duleep Trophy 2023.
Familiarity of players with the conditions
The knockout games of the Duleep Trophy 2023 would mostly be played in M Chinnaswamy stadium. South Zone has many players that have a lot of experience playing at the venue. The likes of Mayank Agarwal, Ravikumar Samarth, Vidhwath Kaverappa, and Vijaykumar Vyshak have played a lot of domestic games here. Mayank Agarwal and Vijaykumar Vyshak have played IPL games too in the venue. Apart from them, even Washington Sundar and Sachin Baby played a lot of IPL games at the venue. They would have a fair bit of knowledge about the playing conditions.
The right balance between youth and experience
The success of a team depends on the quality of both young and experienced players. The South Zone team has some exciting young talents like Sai Sudarshan, Washington Sundar, Tilak Varma, Vidhwath Kaverappa, and Pradosh Paul. Some of them performed extremely well in IPL 2023. Vidhwath Kaverappa was exceptional with the ball against Namibia. They also have experienced campaigners like Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Ravikumar Samarth, Sachin Baby, and Srikar Bharat. All of them would bring value with their experience.
To win test matches, taking 20 wickets in a Test is important. That makes bowlers the most important entities in Tests. With the bowling lineup South Zone has, they can back themselves to have a go at the title. They have two good pacers like Vidhwath Kaverappa and Vijaykumar Vyshak that aren’t just in good form but are also aware of the conditions well. R Sai Kishore, Pradosh Paul, and Washington Sundar would be crucial with their spin bowling. Spin has been an important factor at M Chinnaswamy Stadium over the years. South Zone having some good spinners might give them a slight edge.