Mumbai, Aug 15: Senior stars including skipper Rohit Sharma, premier batter Virat Kohli, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and leading spinner R Ashwin received exemptions as the national selectors struck a fine balance between domestic performers and potential talent while picking up four squads for the Duleep Trophy starting September 5 in Bengaluru.The tournament will feature international stars such as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, leading all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Mohammed Siraj.
T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, who had played one Test against Australia in 2023 has also been picked. Apart from Surya, the others have confirmed slot in the team.
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who was part of India’s T20 World Cup winning team, will also be featuring in the tournament, making it his first red-ball assignment after coming back from that horrific car accident in 2022.
Also back in business will be another left-handed keeper Ishan Kishan, who was removed from BCCI’s central contracts list after he skipped the Ranji Trophy tournament last season giving priority to cash-rich IPL.
Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel, both of whom played vital role in India’s home series win against England are also in the mix. Keepers Aryan Juyal and Abhishek Porel are also part of the various squads.
India players were supposed to play only one match and hence Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah and Ashwin were given exemptions.
Suryakumar is part of Team C, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, which also has two exciting young pacers — Anshul Khamboj and Himanshu Chauhan, who would be under the scanner of the selectors following their exploits last season.
Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja will turn up for Team B which also comprises Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Washington Sundar, while Shubman Gill will captain Team A, which consists of Kuldeep, KL Rahul, Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag among others.
Apart from Parag, Goalpara-born Akash Sengupta is the other cricketer from Assam to feature in the tournament. He is part of Team D, which will be led by Shreyas lyer with Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh as other teammates.
Pace sensation Mayank Yadav, who is recovering from lower abdominal injury, is yet to regain fitness and will miss the event. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s participation is also subject to fitness.