The Duleep Trophy final will have an extra dose of international experience in the form of KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj who are expected to play for South Zone in the title match against East Zone.
The final will take place in Chennai on September 6 and South Zone will be taking on three players who have represented India at the highest level by adding three players from South Zone.
As South Zone are going to finish the tournament with the trophy.
KL Rahul is going to be one of the most significant attractions of the final. The experienced batsman has a good record in domestic cricket and has scored key innings in first-class competitions.
In addition, South Zone has more experienced players to bat and so it could be in the best interests of the team in the final to have his presence.
Devdutt Padikkal is another notable addition to the squad. The left-handed batsman has continued to amass his reputation in domestic and international cricket and his ability to stay in the crease for long periods of time can be extremely useful in a five-day first-class game, in which partnerships and tempo should be kept high.
Mohammed Siraj will strengthen the bowling attack. Siraj brings a lot of international experience to the South Zone lineup with his speed, aggression and his ability to extract movement with the new ball.
His spell with the new ball will be very important if the Chennai conditions are favorable to fast bowlers.
South Zone secured their place in the final after beating North Zone by seven wickets in the semi-final.
Tilak Varma was instrumental in convincing his side to chase down the target and secure a place in the championship match.
East Zone, in fact, clinched the last place after defeating Central Zone by four wickets. Their progress will set up a strong match with a South Zone side who now has a number of experienced players.
Moreover, the presence of other notable players could affect the final combination too. Tilak Varma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan are all very much a part of India's T20 side so the team management and the selection decisions will depend on their involvement.
For Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj, the final is also a chance to get some valuable red-ball match practice. Domestic first-class cricket is a way to keep the players in rhythm and sharp between international duties.
The Chennai final is a great match with both teams in the thick of competition for the Duleep Trophy title so it is a battle between them.
South Zone bringing in three experienced India players to the table has brought more interest to the match and it is likely that Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj will play at such a crucial stage of the match and one of the top three in India will be so much attention will be on how well Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj perform.
