The Duleep Trophy 2024 has started with India C taking on India D and India A playing against India B. The red-ball domestic tournament is important considering the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh. Barring Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Siraj, all the other players are playing.
Shreyas Iyer, who lost his place in the Test side during the five-match Test series against England, is thinking of impressing the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee ahead of the busy home season. However, he failed in his first attempt, scoring just 9 runs off 16 balls before Vijaykumar Vyshak got rid of him.
Only Axar Patel should his class for India D, amassing more than 80 runs. He was unbeaten at the time of writing the news.
On the other hand, Sarfaraz Khan, who impressed in his maiden Test series against the Ben Stokes-led team, is competing with KL Rahul for a place in the Test squad.
Playing for India B, he managed 9 runs off 35 balls before Avesh Khan sent him back to the dressing room. Rishabh Pant, who is getting ready to return to the red-ball team, also had a miserable outing.
The southpaw fell on a score of 7 runs off 10 deliveries. Akash Deep dismissed him cheaply with India B losing seven wickets with not even 100 on the board.
After the series against Bangladesh, the India National Cricket Team will take on New Zealand in three Test matches. Rohit’s team will then play Five Tests as a part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.