The BCCI took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday (August 14) to announce squads for the upcoming Duleep Trophy matches. This year, the prestigious domestic tournament will be played in a new format. Unlike the previous years, where teams from different zones used to participate, in the upcoming edition, India A, B, C, and D teams led by Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shreyas Iyer, respectively, will face each other.
Ahead of the start of the first round in Anantapur on September 5, here’s a look at five star Indian players who were ignored for the Duleep Trophy.
Rinku Singh: Rinku made his debut for India last year after impressing with his performance in the IPL 2023 for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He has played two ODIs and 23 T20Is for the Men in Blue in the last 12 months and has also featured in 47 first-class matches. He has scored 3173 runs with an average of 54.70, but despite that, he was not picked in any of the four teams.
Sanju Samson: Samson was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning team and played in second and third T20Is against Sri Lanka as well last month. The 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has played 62 first-class matches so far.
Prithvi Shaw: Former India U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw scored a century on his Test debut for India and has regularly played for Mumbai in domestic cricket as well. He was part of the Ajinkya Rahane-led team that won the 2023–24 edition of the Ranji Trophy and is in red-hot form these days for Northamptonshire in the One-Day Cup, but despite all this, he was not considered.
Ravi Bishnoi: Former world No. 1 T20I bowler Ravi Bishnoi is another notable absentee from the Duleep Trophy squad. The 23-year-old is seen as the future of Indian spin bowling but was not picked in any of the four squads.
Abhishek Sharma: Abhishek made headlines for his super batting show in the IPL 2024 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, because of which he also earned a place in the Indian team for a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe last month. The left-handed batter has played 24 first-class matches so far and has 1071 runs to his name.
In addition to these youngsters, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hardik Pandya will also not be seen in action during Duleep Trophy matches. While BCCI secretary Jay Shah has explained the reason behind Virat and Rohit’s absence, it is still unclear why Ashwin and Pandya were not picked.
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