Some of India’s main players, like fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and experienced spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, might not play in the first round of the Duleep Trophy. Because of this, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has moved one of the opening games from Anantapur to Bengaluru.
Top batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma might also be allowed to skip the tournament, and whether they play or not is up to them.
The Duleep Trophy was supposed to start with two first-round matches in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, on September 5. But now, one of those games has been moved to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to make travel easier for the teams.
Anantapur is about 230 kilometers from Bengaluru, and there are no flights connecting the two cities.
A person involved in the planning said, “We have decided to include some of the best players so they can practice playing with the red ball before the Test series against Bangladesh.” This information was shared with PTI.
India is scheduled to play two Test matches against Bangladesh, one starting on September 19 in Chennai and the other on September 27 in Kanpur.
It’s up to Rohit and Kohli whether they will participate in the event, but other well-known players like Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and Kuldeep Yadav are likely to take part in this tournament, either fully or partially.
However, it is not expected that Bumrah and Ashwin will participate in the tournament at any point, as they are scheduled to join the Indian team just before the series against Bangladesh.
The selectors are also considering allowing Rishabh Pant to play in the Duleep Trophy. If this occurs, it will be his first game with a red ball since his recovery from a serious car accident in 2022.
Since his comeback, Pant has been part of India’s team for limited-overs matches and also played in the T20 World Cup wearing the national team jersey.
Mohammed Shami, who has been recovering from surgery, will not be playing in the tournament.
However, the top players’ availability will depend on the dates of the training camp the team management is considering holding in Chennai before the Test matches against Bangladesh.
The decision to change the match date also supports the common goal of the BCCI and the team management that top players should participate in domestic cricket competitions when they are not busy with national duties.
Remember that India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav (from Mumbai) and the less favored wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan (from Jharkhand) have agreed to play in the Buchi Babu Trophy, which starts on August 15.
