The involvement of star-studded Duleep Trophy teams in the first round brought Indian domestic cricket to the front page after years. However, 10 individuals, who took part in the curtain-raiser, have been included in the national team. The likes of Yash Dayal, Akash Deep, and Sarfaraz Khan have been awarded for their toil in domestic cricket. However, the Duleep Trophy caravan moves on.
The second round starts with two strong teams, who lost their opening clash. It will be India A that will take on India D at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur. It is the same ground, where India C and India D played out an exciting game, where the former emerged victorious on the back of Manav Suthar’s brilliance. But now what? What about the team changes that these two teams will be forced to make after recent replacements in the squad?
India A: Skipper Mayank Agarwal to bring in Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna?
Shubman Gill captained India A in the previous Duleep Trophy clash. But now the reigns is with Mayank Agarwal, a veteran in the domestic circuit. The passionate opener will look to get his team back on track after a shallow start against India B. As an opener, Gill has been replaced by Baroda batter Shashwat Rawat, who is likely to partner up with Mayank. He had a great Ranji Trophy season, mustering 784 runs.
Eyes on Riyan Parag & Shivam Dube
Riyan Parag, who always oozes confidence, had a quiet Duleep Trophy game. While he made 30+ in both innings, Parag couldn’t make much impact. All eyes will be on him now, with Parag being an international cricketer now. Meanwhile, the wicket-keeper would be Akshay Wadkar of Vidharbha. Another big-name player who had a mediocre outing is Shivam Dube.
While he is in the T20I and ODI scheme of things, Dube would need to iron out his frailties in batting. Avesh Khan, Tanush Kotian, and Khaleel Ahmed will most likely retain their places. However, Prasidh Krishna, who was forced to miss out in the first-round game might make his return in the form of Akash Deep’s replacement. Kuldeep Yadav’s place will be taken by another domestic veteran Shams Mulani, who has 180 first-class wickets to his name.
India A predicted XI – Duleep Trophy
Mayank Agarwal, Shashwat Rawat, Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma, Akshay Wadkar, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Shams Mulani, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna
Updated India A squad: Mayank Agarwal (C), Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat, Pratham Singh, Akshay Wadkar, SK Rasheed, Shams Mulani, Aaqib Khan
Sanju Samson to play Duleep Trophy?
Sanju Samson has replaced Ishan Kishan in India D. Most of the fans might have overlooked this replacement when BCCI announced the updated squad for the second round of the Duleep Trophy. While Kishan didn’t play the first match as well, it was KS Bharat who had a bad outing. He failed to score runs. Unfortunately for him, his place in the Indian team has been taken by Dhruv Jurel as well. But now that Samson is in the squad, the Kerala superstar is all but likely to walk into the first XI.
What will be the pace options for Shreyas Iyer?
The majority of the batting lineup for India D will remain the same. Skipper Shreyas Iyer, who was ignored for the Bangladesh Test series, will be rearing to prove the selectors wrong and get enough runs under his belt. The same is the case for Devdutt Padikkal, who had a fifty on his India Test debut against England.
Axar Patel, who had a superb Duleep Trophy opener against India C has been replaced by Nishant Sindhu, another left-arm spinning all-rounder. Saransh Jain, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana will retain their places.
India D predicted XI – Duleep Trophy
Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Shreyas Iyer (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Sanju Samson (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Saransh Jain, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vidwath Kaverappa.
Updated India D squad: Shreyas lyer (C), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar, Sanju Samson (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Vidwath Kaverappa
