The first game of this year’s Duleep Trophy will be held at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. While the rest of the tournament will be held in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, this particular fixture has been relocated to the Karnataka capital, as per Cricbuzz. The Duleep Trophy will see six four-day games played between four teams starting September 5.
Bengaluru to host Duleep Trophy’s first match
The tournament is set to feature senior Indian players who have been directed by the selectors to take part in domestic cricket. The trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will not participate in the tournament. While the duo of Ro-Ko have been given the option to choose if they will participate, Bumrah has been given an extended break, as per reports.
“This decision comes at the request of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). We have agreed to host the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium,” a KSCA official told Cricbuzz.
Notably, all-rounder Hardik Pandya will not feature in the tournament as he has stopped playing domestic red-ball cricket. Out of favour keeper-batter Ishan Kishan has also been asked by the selectors to resume domestic cricket if he wants to make a comeback for Team India.
Several senior players are expected to take part in the first round matches of the Duleep Trophy. The Men in Blue will have a short camp in Chennai before the IND vs BAN Test series which is scheduled to begin on September 19. This leaves the opening round of the Duleep Trophy to be the only window for the participation of the senior players.
