Duleep Trophy: Top players making a red-ball return through the domestic tournament

The upcoming domestic season carries remarkable significance, with the Duleep Trophy slated to start on September 5th. This red-ball tournament is set to bring many key players back into the domestic setup. While senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah have been provided rest for the tournament, other centrally contracted players have been called up for the event, which kicks off in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. The Indian team has an action-packed red-ball schedule lined up ahead, with the Bangladesh Tests scheduled for September. The Duleep Trophy will play an impactful role in the selection process for India's red-ball squad.

The domestic tournament spans three weeks and includes four teams, with young players like Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad selected for captaincy roles. The red-ball tournament will be significant for players like Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and Rishabh Pant, who will be looking to work their way back into the Indian test setup. Moreover, the selectors will try to lock in the final prospects for the upcoming Test season and the Border Gavaskar Trophy scheduled for December this year. Read below to learn about the players who will be making their red-ball return in the series.

Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan’s last red-ball game was in the India vs. Bangladesh Tests in July last year. His last assignment with the team was in November 2023 during Australia’s Tour of India. However, the young prospect has since fallen out of favor with the BCCI. After assisting the Indian team in the ODI World Cup, Kishan opted out of India’s series against South Africa earlier this year, citing mental fatigue. Moreover, despite reminders from the board, the young wicketkeeper failed to play in the domestic circuit, which eventually led to Kishan losing his central contract with the BCCI.

Now, with his return to domestic cricket and the upcoming Duleep Trophy, Kishan seems to be working his way back into the Indian Cricket Team (ICT). Before taking on the Duleep Trophy, Kishan led the Jharkhand Association in the Buchi Babu tournament, where he scored a blazing century, smashing 10 sixes and five fours in the innings. With Ishan Kishan making a positive return to domestic cricket, his performance in the Duleep Trophy could push the board to bring the wicketkeeper back into contention for an Indian team selection ahead of the Bangladesh Test series.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer was one of two players, along with Ishan Kishan, who lost their central contracts with the BCCI earlier this year. The KKR captain last featured in a Test match for India on January 25, 2024, against England. Although he led KKR to the IPL 2024 title, he was left out of India's T20 World Cup squad. Iyer returned to the Team India lineup during the ODI series against Sri Lanka but struggled with form.

Similar to Kishan, Iyer ignored the board’s direction to participate in domestic tournaments, leading to the harsh steps taken by the BCCI. However, Iyer is now ready to make a red-ball return as he assumes the captaincy role for the Duleep Trophy. He will be aiming to regain his form to bolster his chances of an India comeback. A chance in the upcoming Bangladesh series could place Iyer in India’s plans for the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has not played a single red-ball match since his unfortunate accident in December 2022. The Indian wicketkeeper has returned to the white-ball format following his recovery but has yet to feature in a Test match. While Pant boasts the historic Gabba win against Australia to his credit, the wicketkeeper needs to ease back into the longest format before being considered for selection again. The Duleep Trophy will help Pant to find his Test game rhythm again as India prepares for another tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December this year. Moreover, a strong performance in the Duleep Trophy could help him convince the selectors that he is fit and ready to play in the longer format.

Squads for Duleep Trophy 2024/25

Team A: Shubman Gill (C), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat.

Team B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant, Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd Siraj, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (WK).

Team C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Umran Malik, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (WK), Sandeep Warrier.

Team D: Shreyas lyer (C), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar.