The next Duleep Trophy, a cricket competition in India, is likely to have famous players like captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The people who choose the players want all the main Test players to be part of this local tournament before the next series at home against Bangladesh.
A news article in The Indian Express says that the BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will choose the teams for the four groups – India A, India B, India C, and India D – that will play in the updated Duleep Trophy.
In addition to Rohit and Kohli, players like Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel have also been asked to participate in the event.
Jasprit Bumrah, who played a crucial part in India’s victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, is unlikely to play in this tournament, and there’s a chance he might not play in the upcoming Tests against Bangladesh either.
India is scheduled to play 10 Test matches over a period of four months, with five of these matches taking place in India (two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand) and the other five during a tour of Australia.
The Duleep Trophy, which includes six matches, is planned to be held in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, starting from September 5.
However, according to the report, the location might be changed to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This change could happen because the Indian cricket players have agreed to participate, and Anantapur does not have an airport.
There is no clear information about which game Rohit and Kohli will play in, but if the team management decides to have a training camp in Chennai before the Bangladesh series starts, they will play in the first match.
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who were not included in BCCI’s yearly contract list, are also expected to play in the tournament. However, experienced players Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will not be considered, as the team management is focusing on younger players.
Both Iyer and Ishan were reportedly punished for not following BCCI’s rule to not miss domestic competitions while on national duty. While Iyer has returned to the national team through the recent Sri Lanka ODI series, Ishan has not played international cricket for almost nine months.
