The Indian cricket team recently toured Sri Lanka for an ODI series. After this, the team will rest and prepare for the Test series against Bangladesh. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be seen in action in the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The senior selection committee wants all the players to be available for the Duleep Trophy in view of the Test series against Bangladesh. This season will be played in a new format.
Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav have been asked to play in the Duleep Trophy. However, Jasprit Bumrah will not be playing the match as he has been rested for the series. The selection committee will also discuss his selection in the two Test matches against Bangladesh.
Rohit, Virat to play Duleep Trophy
The Indian cricket team is scheduled to play 10 Test matches, including a 5-match Test series, in Australia over the next four months. The pitches in the Bangladesh series are expected to favour spinners. Mohammed Shami is likely to make a comeback. Bumrah could be rested for the Bangladesh series. The Duleep Trophy will not be held in the divisional format as before. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee will pick the four teams - India A, India B, India C and India D - that will take part in the tournament.
The Duleep Trophy will be played in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. Since the venue is not connected to air traffic and star players are agreeing to come, the BCCI is now planning to hold a round at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The six matches of the Duleep Trophy will begin on September 5 and end on September 24. The first Test between India and Bangladesh will be played in Chennai from September 19.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in action during the Duleep Trophy match.
It is not clear whether Rohit and Kohli will play in the first match of the Duleep Trophy on September 5 or in the second round starting September 12. According to reports, the BCCI will also conduct a short camp in Chennai before the Test series, in which all the players will play in the first round of the Duleep Trophy.
Jay Shah on domestic cricket
A few months ago, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said that barring top Indian cricketers like Rohit, Kohli and Bumrah, all the players in the Indian team will have to make themselves available for domestic cricket. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan will feature in the Buchi Babu tournament to be played in Tamil Nadu from August 15.
Ishan Iyer gets a chance
Ishan Kishan could be picked by the selection committee for the Duleep Trophy. It is learnt that the selection committee wants Kishan to play red-ball cricket to make a comeback to the Indian team. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been released from the BCCI central contracts. Despite the advice of the selection committee, he did not play the Ranji Trophy last season. Iyer was released from the contract despite playing two Ranji Trophy matches, while Ishan Kishan ignored the BCCI's warning and trained separately in Vadodara. Iyer made a comeback to the national side during the recently-concluded ODI series in Sri Lanka and Kishan has been given another chance to make a comeback.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will not feature in the Duleep Trophy squad as the selectors have decided to go ahead without the two stalwarts. Under Rahane's captaincy, the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team won the 42nd Ranji Trophy title last season, but his performance with the bat was not as expected. Pujara has scored runs, but the selectors feel that young players like Sarfaraz and Dhruv Jurel have shown great potential to fill his place.
