12 August,2024 02:12 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin (Pic: File Pic)
Team India's regular players Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin are unlikely to play in the first round of the Duleep Trophy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has shifted one of the opening matches from Anantapur to Bengaluru.
Stalwart Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma might also get the freedom, the choice of featuring in the tournament will be entirely on them.
The Duleep Trophy was earlier scheduled to kick off with two sets of first-round matches at Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh on September 5, but now one of those games has been shifted to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here to reduce the logistical inconveniences.
Anantapur is approximately 230 km away from Bengaluru and the city is not connected via flight. The decision has been made to accommodate some of the top players, so that they get a feel of the red-ball cricket ahead of the (Test) series against Bangladesh, a source close to the development told PTI.
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Team India is scheduled to play two Test matches against Bangladesh from September 19 and September 27.
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While it is up to Rohit and Kohli to play in the event, some other prominent players such as Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, etc. are expected to be available for Duleep Trophy fully or partially.
However, Bumrah and Ashwin are unlikely to take part in the tournament at any stage as they are expected to join the India squad directly ahead of the Bangladesh series.
The selectors will also look to giving Rishabh Pant a go in the Duleep Trophy. If this happens, this will be Pant's first red-ball tournament after coming back from the car crash.
After his return, he was part of India's white-ball squads and was also included in the T20 World Cup 2024 team.
Mohammed Shami, who has been recuperating from surgery, will not feature in the tournament. However, the availability of the top players will also be subject to the dates of the preparatory camp that the team management is mulling to hold in Chennai ahead of the Tests against Bangladesh.
But the decision to shift the match also aligns with the shared vision of the BCCI and the team management that the top players should feature in domestic cricket competitions whenever they are free from national duty.
It may be recalled that India's T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai) and out-of-favour wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan (Jharkhand) have made themselves available to play the Buchi Babu Trophy, starting from August 15.
(With PTI Inputs)
