India captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli may turn out for one round of Duleep Trophy 2024 ahead of the India vs Bangladesh Tests next month.
Indian cricket fans are in for a treat as captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli are set to turn out for domestic cricket in the country starting early next month ahead of the India vs Bangladesh 2024 series which gets underway on September 19. According to media reports, the Duleep Trophy 2024 which starts on September 5 is set to feature the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as they look to prepare themselves for the longest format of the game.
According to a report in Indian Express newspaper on Monday (August 12), apart from Rohit and Virat, the likes of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Surykumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav have been asked to play in the Duleep Trophy by the Team India management.
“The selectors are also set to have a discussion on his inclusion for the two Tests against Bangladesh as India have a gruelling 10 Tests line-up in the next four months including 5 in Australia. With the pitches for Bangladesh series expected to spin friendly and Mohammed Shami closing in on return, Bumrah may be rested for the series,” the Indian Express report said.
DULEEP TROPHY UPDATES. [Express Sports]
– Rohit & Kohli likely to play
– Gill, Rahul, Axar, Jadeja, Jaiswal, Surya, Kuldeep have been asked to play
– India A, B, C, D will feature in the tournament
– Ishan likely to be included
– BCCI planning to conduct one round in Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/pTMtP6R1lg— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 12, 2024
The Duleep Trophy 2024 will witness a new format from this year with the zonal format done away with. Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel with selection 4 squads – India A, India B, India C and India D – on the lines of Challenger Trophy in the past. The tournament was scheduled to be played in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh originally. With the venue not connected by air transport and with the star players agreeing to turn up, the BCCI is now planning to keep one round at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The six matches of Duleep Trophy 2024 will begin on September 5 and end on September 24 while the first Test between India vs Bangladesh will be played in Chennai from September 19.
However, the report added that it is not clear whether Rohit and Kohli will be playing the Duleep Trophy opener on September 5 or the second round that starts on September 12. “It is understood that the BCCI is also planning a short camp in Chennai before the Test series and if that materialises, then the stars will feature in the first round of the Duleep Trophy,” the report said.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah has already made it clear in the past that Indian cricketers will have to make themselves available for domestic cricket with the notable exception to Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Cricketers like Suryakumar and Sarfaraz Khan from Mumbai will be taking part in Buchi Babu invitational tournament to be played in Tamil Nadu from August 15.
The selection committee is also likely to pick Mumbai Indians and Jharkhand wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan for the Duleep Trophy game. The selectos want Kishan to resume red ball cricket if he wants to be back in contention for the Indian team. Ishan and Shreyas Iyer were dropped from the BCCI’s annual contract list after they failed to play the Ranji Trophy despite the selection committee asking them to do so last season.
