Star-studded start for Indian domestic season
CHENNAI: As many as eight players who were a part of the Indian playing XI in the final Test against England in Dharamsala in March this year will be in action during the first round of the Duleep Trophy matches that begin on September 5.
The three players who are not included, apart from Virat Kohli, are Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah as the BCCI announced the squads on Wednesday.
India No. 3 Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer will captain four teams, with senior bowlers including Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh also named in the squads.
The tournament will also mark the return of Rishabh Pant in red-ball cricket. Pant, who made a comeback in the shortest format after a life-threatening car accident, was a part of the title-winning Indian T20I team in the World Cup. And now, his road back to the Indian Test team will begin in the upcoming tournament.
The other big name to miss is Mohammed Shami, who is still in rehab after undergoing surgery. Earlier, it was understood that Shami is expected to be fit in time for the New Zealand Test series in October. However, it should not come as a surprise should the selectors and the medical team decide not to rush his comeback as he will be crucial for India's plan in the five-match Test series in Australia later this year.
Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna, who too is making a comeback after injuring himself in South Africa early this year, will be looking to make a mark in the Duleep Trophy and so will the other fast bowlers like Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaveerapa, Mukesh Kumar, Harshit Rana and Umran Malik.
India will be looking to carry a handful of pacers Down Under as they will need a larger pool to pick from during a long Test series. They might also have an eye on Nitish Kumar Reddy, the fast bowling all-rounder whose inclusion in the first round matches is subject to fitness.
Among batters, it will be a crucial tournament for the likes of Shreyas, Rajat Patidar, KL Rahul, B Indrajith and Suryakumar Yadav. Yadav and Iyer will be playing a match in the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament organised by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association before the first round matches.
Iyer lost the central contract and was dropped from the Test squad earlier this year and Suryakumar has not been in the scheme of things for the longer format for a year. Patidar, after a forgetful series against England, will be searching for runs while Rahul, who was injured during the series, will be making a comeback in the longer format, but probably as a batter with his team also having Dhruv Jurel in the mix. Indrajith, on the other hand, would want to make the most of the chance to impress the selectors after several consistent Ranji campaigns for Tamil Nadu.
The notable omissions include Rinku Singh and Sanju Samson who might find a place in the teams once the Test players leave after the first match. They are expected to assemble in Chennai in the second week of September before the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on September 19.
Squads: Team A: Gill (C), Mayank, Parag, Jurel, Rahul, Tilak, Dube, Tanus, Kuldeep, Akash Deep, Prasidh, Khaleel, Avesh, Vidwath, Kushagra, Shaswat.
Team B: Easwaran (C), Yashasvi, Sarfaraz, Rishabh, Musheer, Nitish Reddy*, Washington, Jadeja, Siraj, Dayal, Mukesh, Chahar, Sai Kishore, Awasthi, Jagadeesan (WK).
Team C: Ruturaj (C), Sai Sudharsan, Patidar, Porel (WK), Suryakumar, B Indrajith, Shokeen, Suthar, Umran, Vyshak, Anshul, Himanshu, Markande, Aryan (WK), Warrier.
Team D: Shreyas (C), Atharva, Dubey, Padikkal, Ishan (WK), Ricky, Saransh, Axar, Arshdeep, Aditya, Harshit, Tushar, Akash, Bharat (WK), Saurabh.
First round Fixtures, Sep 5, 2024: Team A vs Team B, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru; Team C vs Team D, Rural Development Trust Stadium "A", Ananthapur
