New Delhi: Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane has been named in squads for the Deodhar Trophy beginning here on 23 October with a slight tweak in the format. The tournament remains a three-team affair but it will not feature Vijay Hazare Trophy champions this time.
Instead, India A, B and C, captained by Dinesh Karthik, Shreyas Iyer and Rahane respectively, will fight for the title. “It was decided during the technical committee meeting of BCCI that there will be three teams instead of one being Vijay Hazare champions,” GM (Game Development) Saba Karim told PTI on Thursday.
The presence of India Test regulars like Rahane and Ashwin is not a surprise as they both have been out of India’s limited overs set-up. Teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw, who made a successful Test debut against the West Indies, will play for India A. India A captain Karthik too will have a point to prove after being dropped from the national team for the first two ODIs against the West Indies.
The wicket-keeper batsman will lead a team comprising Tamil Nadu teammate Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj, Karun Nair, Krunal Pandya and Siddharth Kaul. The selectors have rewarded players who have done well in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy including Jharkhand pacer Varun Aaron, who is on a comeback trail. Aaron will be playing for Iyer-led India B, which also has Mayank Agarwal, Shahbaz Nadeem, Hanuma Vihari and Jaydev Unadkat.
Rahane’s India C have the likes of U-19 star Shubman Gill, Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini, Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar and Rajneesh Gurbani. None of the players representing nine new teams in domestic cricket has been picked.