Duleep Trophy 2022: Full squads, schedule, format and everything else you need to know

After Ranji Trophy’s successful return to action earlier this year, albeit in two different phases separated by the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), another major Indian domestic cricket competition is set to make a comeback this year. The Duleep Trophy, one of BCCI’s key First-Class competitions alongside the flagship Ranji Trophy, returns to action after more two years and for the first time since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and will mark the beginning of the domestic season in the cricket-mad nation. Ahead of the tournament that begins in just a few days’ time, we take a look at the squads along with the full schedule and other key details pertaining to the tournament: Squads: North Zone: Yash Dhull (DDCA), Dhruv Shorey – VC (DDCA), Manan Vohra (PCA), Mandeep Singh – Captain (PCA), Himanshu Rana (HCA), Akash Vashisht (HPCA), Anmol Malhotra – WK (PCA), Mayank Dagar (HPCA), Pulkit Narang (SSCB), Navdeep Saini (DDCA), Siddharth Kaul (PCA), Jagjit Singh (UTCA), Nishant Sindhu (HCA), Qamran Iqbal (JKCA), Vikas Mishra (DDCA). South Zone: Hanuma Vihari – Captain (Hyd CA), Mayank Agarwal – VC (KSCA), Rohan Kunnummal (Kerala), Manish Pandey (KSCA), Devdutt Paddikal (KSCA), B Inderjith (TNCA), Eknath Kerkar WK (Goa), Ricky Bhui – WK (Andhra), Sai Kishore (TNCA), K Gowtham (KSCA), Basil Thampi (Kerala), Ravi Teja (Hyd CA), V C Stephen (Andhra), Tanay Thyagrajan (Hyd CA), Lakshye Garg (Goa). East Zone: Manoj Tiwary – Captain (CAB), Virat Singh – VC (JSCA), Nazim Siddique (JSCA), Sudip Kumar Gharami (CAB), Shantanu Mishra (OCA), Anustup Mazumdar (CAB), Riyan Parag (ACA), Kumar Kushagra - WK (JSCA), Abishek Porel (CAB), Shabaz Ahmed (CAB), Shahbaj Nadeem (JSCA), Ishan Porel (CAB), Akash Deep (CAB), Mukthar Hussain (ACA), Mani Shankar Mura Singh (TCA). West Zone: Ajinkya Rahane – Captain (Mumbai), Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai), Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Rahul Tripathi (Maharashtra), Chiraj Jani (Saurashtra), Het Patel (Gujarat), Hardik Tamore (Mumbai), Shams Mulani (Mumbai), Tanish Kotian (Mumbai), Atit Seth (Baroda), Chintan Gaja (Gujarat), Shardul Thakur(Mumbai), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra), Satyajeet Bachhav (Maharashtra). Central Zone: Karan Sharma – Captain (UPCA), Shubham Sharma – VC (MPCA), Himanshu Mantri – WK (MPCA), Yash Dubey (MPCA), Priyam Garg (UPCA), Rinku Singh (UPCA), Ashok Maneria (RCA), Akshay Wadkar – WK (VCA), Gaurav Yadav (MPCA), Venkatesh Iyer (MPCA), Deepak Dhapola (CAU), Aniket Chaudhary (RCA), Kumar Kartikey (MPCA), Aditya Sarvatey (VCA), Ankit Rajput (UPCA). NorthEast Zone: Ashish Thapa – Captain (Sikkim), Techi Neri (Arunachal), Jonathan Rongsen (Nagaland), Kishan Lyngdoh (Meghalaya), Ankur Malik (Sikkim), Bishworjit K (Manipur), G Lalbiakvela (Mizoram), R K Rex (Manipur), Khrievitso Kense (Nagaland), Techi Doria (Arunachal), Dippu Sangma (Meghalaya), Hokaito Zhimomi (Nagaland), L Kishan Singa (Manipur), Bobby Z (Mizoram), Md. Al Bashid (Manipur). Format: While the tournament’s format has undergone multiple changes over the years, the core format has been that of five zonal teams, viz. North Zone, East Zone, West Zone, South Zone and Central Zone, competing against each other for domestic supremacy. In the 2016-17 season, the BCCI decided to do away with the zonal format and brought in three handpicked teams — India Red, India Blue and India Green. The format would stay in place for the next four seasons until the 2019-20 edition, which was the last time the tournament took place. This year, the tournament returns to its original zonal format with the addition of a new team — the North East Zone. Additionally, the tournament will take place in knock out format instead of the league format — with two quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final. Schedule: Quarterfinal 1: West Zone vs North East Zone, 8-11 September in Chennai Quarterfinal 2: North Zone vs East Zone, 8-11 September, Puducherry Semi-final 1: Central Zone vs Winner of QF 1: 15-18 September, Coimbatore Semi-final 2: South Zone vs Winner of QF 2: 15-18 September, Salem Final: Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2, 21-25 September, Coimbatore Venues: The tournament will be hosted entirely in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Chennai and Puducherry will play host to the quarter-final fixtures while Coimbatore and Salem will host the semi-finals. Coimbatore will then host the final. Here’s the list of venues that will host the upcoming matches: Chennai: MA Chidambaram Stadium Coimbatore: SNR College Cricket Ground Salem: Salem Cricket Foundation Ground Puducherry: Cricket Association Puducherry Ground 2 Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram****.