BCCI secretary Jay Shah has stated that even top cricketers must participate in domestic matches when they are not playing for the national team. However, special cases will be made for players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. The BCCI would like all other Test players to compete in at least one or possibly two Duleep Trophy games in August, which will prepare them for upcoming Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
“This year, there won’t be a zonal selection committee for the Duleep Trophy. Only the national selection committee will choose the teams. All potential Test players will be considered. For Rohit, Virat, and Bumrah, it will be up to them whether they want to play or not,” the source added.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya is ready to captain India in a three-game T20 series against Sri Lanka starting on July 27. However, one of the key players from India’s recent T20 World Cup win will not participate in the upcoming three-game ODI series in August due to personal reasons. “Hardik Pandya served as India’s vice-captain in the T20s under Rohit Sharma. He is fully fit and will captain the team in the T20 series,” said a BCCI official.
Rohit has decided to stop playing T20 matches for his country after the World Cup. The T20 games against Sri Lanka will take place from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, and then the one-day games will be from August 2 to 7 in Colombo. The team for these matches will be announced soon. It’s not clear yet who will help Pandya as his deputy but it could be either Shubman Gill, who recently led India to victory in a series against Zimbabwe, or Suryakumar Yadav, who was captain during the T20 games against South Africa last year. Regarding the one-day games, it’s been confirmed that Pandya has requested time off and has already told Rohit Sharma, the usual captain, who is also skipping this series to take a break.
“The break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. Hardik doesn’t have any fitness issue as is being floated in the media,” the official said. For the ODIs, KL Rahul, who led in the last ODI series in South Africa, and Gill are in contention for the leadership role.
