The highly-anticipated first-round fixtures of the Duleep Trophy 2024 concluded with India B and India C registering impressive wins. The majority of the star cricketers featured in the four-day First-Class match after the BCCI's push to consider domestic cricket for national team selection.
Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is set to announce the squad for the upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh in the next two days and is likely to consider the players' performances in the Duleep Trophy first-round fixtures.
Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are expected to return to red-ball cricket after missing out on the last assignment against England due to different reasons. Captain Rohit Sharma-led management is reportedly looking to extend Jasprit Bumrah's rest and give Mohammed Shami more time to recover.
Focusing on the Duleep Trophy, pacer Akash Deep made a big impact with nine wickets across two innings for India A. After making an impact in his debut innings against England, Deep is expected to retain his place in the team.
Axar Patel also made an impact with both bat and ball while Kuldeep Yadav struggled with just one wicket across two innings for India A. But both are favourites to join Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as India's spin quartet for Bangladesh Tests.
With Rishabh Pant returning, Dhruv Jurel is likely to feature as a backup wicketkeeping option ahead of KL Rahul and KS Bharat. Jurel failed to reach double-digit scores in the first round of the Duleep Trophy but made an eye-catching impact by taking seven catches in the second innings, enough to retain his place in the team.
KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were both part of the England Tests but the former missed the majority of the five-match series due to an injury. Rahul scored 37 and 57 runs across two innings against India B's impressive bowling attack at M Chinnaswamy Stadium to stake his claim in the team as a batter, most probably as a backup option to the middle order.
Shreyas also smashed a quick fifty in the second innings after failing to score a big in the first against India C. He is facing a tough challenge to make the team with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul returning to the setup for the Bangladesh Test series.
India Test squad for Bangladesh series:
Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar.
IN - Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant.
OUT - Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar.
