In India, the much-fancied domestic cricket season will begin with the Duleep Trophy on September 5, but some of the leading players will not be available. There will be no place for Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah in this year’s tournament, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo. Their exclusion is of particular importance as attention shifts to other potentials and newcomers who will form the future of Indian cricket.
It seems likely that the selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar is going to complete teams for the tournament later in the month. Most other centrally contracted players should however be involved in the four-team tournament neglected by the following stars. It is also in line with the policy of the BCCI to focus on domestic cricket and give young talent exposure.
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As for the cricket players who can impress during the Duleep Trophy, one can name the following: KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant. Rahul, who was part of the England Test team earlier this year, sadly could only play a couple of games due to injury, will be coming back in a big way. Likewise, Pant will be featuring in his first red-ball game after he was involved in a car accident in December 2022. Especially for the forthcoming international encounters both player’s performances will be vital in the tournament.
Apart from them, other specialist batters likely to be part of the four teams are Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rajat Patidar. Their performances are likely to be useful in demonstrating their fitness for further levels of competition and possibly earn them places in the national team.
They had Mohammed Shami, who is almost match-fit, virtually confirmed to be included in one of the Duleep Trophy games. Shami, who is now in the last phase of his rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru, has been gradually trying to build up his bowling strides in the past week. His participation in the Duleep Trophy could provide valuable insights into his readiness for the upcoming international fixtures.
Impact on India’s Test Season
The season of Test cricket awaits to be tough for Indians as 10 Test matches are to be played in the next five months out of which five are to be played at home and the other five in Australia. The older players will be allowed a long spell of rest before the first of this assignment, the two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting on September 19. This break will do the senior players a lot of good and prepare them adequately for the demanding Test cricket season.
The Duleep Trophy has been played as the zonal tournament in which conveners of each zone used to select the players but this year the format has been changed. A seven-member working group has made this suggestion comprising Rahul Dravid – the past head coach, VVS Laxman – the NCA chief, Ajit Agarkar, and BCCI general manager Abey Kuruvilla. The new format is aimed at a realistic player base that gets a good chance, especially those in the targeted category, as India moves towards a vital Test period.
This will culminate with a four-team round-robin tournament, to be completed by September 22. After playing a round-robin tournament format the team with the highest standing will be declared the winner. It is supposed to increase the intensity of the event and allow performing a more profound assessment of the players.
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