Duleep trophy round one

Duleep Trophy Round One: K.L. Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Siraj are some of the big names set to play in the first round of the Duleep Trophy, starting on September 5 in Bengaluru and Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh respectively.

In the Teams A, B, C and D squads selected by the Men’s Selection Committee for the tournament marking the start of the red-ball season, instead of the original zonal format, senior players like captain Rohit Sharma, talismanic batter Virat Kohli, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah haven’t been included, to keep them fresh for a gruelling season.

There is also no place for fast-bowler Mohammed Shami, who is recuperating from a heel injury that needed surgical intervention earlier this year and is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. The aspects India will be keeping an eye on are how Rahul and Pant fare in the red-ball tournament.