The BCCI announced the squads for the Duleep Trophy on Wednesday. Here are some of the notable talking points.

The BCCI announced the squads for the Duleep Trophy on Wednesday. Here are the five most notable talking points from the announcement.

The Duleep Trophy is set to move away from a zonal system for the first time since 2019-20, and will act as the curtain-raiser for India's upcoming domestic season. Reports had emerged last week that several of India's red-ball players would be involved in the competition, in order to get some match practice ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh.

The squads for the respective sides (Team A, B, C, D) were announced by the BCCI on Wednesday (August 14), and here are some of the most notable talking points.

Mohammed Shami yet to return to action

Pace bowler Mohammed Shami was not named in any of the squads, meaning he is likely not fit to return to action yet. He has been out with an ankle injury since November last year following a stellar World Cup campaign. There had been reports this week that the BCCI were hopeful of having him back for the Bangladesh Test series, but that looks unlikely now.

Read more: Mohammed Shami's injury update: When is the India quick expected to return?

It is possible that Shami makes it back for the Bangladesh Tests without playing the Duleep Trophy, but whether that happens remains to be seen. If he does not make it back even then, the next target will be the home series against New Zealand.

Ishan Kishan makes a comeback

Earlier this year, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan were left off the list of India's centrally contracted players for the 2023-24 season, reportedly for not playing domestic cricket when not on national duty.

Kishan did not take part in the Ranji Trophy for Jharkhand earlier this year after leaving India's tour of Sri Lanka to take a break from cricket. His only taste of top-level cricket in 2024 has been the IPL, and his last match for India came in November 2023. He has now been named in the Team D squad, as one of two wicketkeepers (KS Bharat is the other).

More: 'I had travel fatigue, but no one understood' - Kishan opens up on break from cricket

Iyer played in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai, and then played for India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He has been named as captain of Team D, and will be replaced if he is selected for the Bangladesh Test series.

Rishabh Pant: No longer a leadership candidate?

The four captains named are Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer. Two of these players (Gill and Gaikwad) have captained India before, and Gill was India's vice-captain in the ODI and T20I formats for their tour of Sri Lanka. These two, along with Shreyas Iyer, are also currently captaining IPL franchises and have been seen as potential leaders of the national team.

Easwaran has been a stalwart on the domestic circuit for more than a decade now. But it is intriguing to see that he was named the captain of Team B over Rishabh Pant, who is a current IPL captain and has been touted as a future India captain before.

Perhaps the selectors do not want to burden him with captaincy as he returns to red-ball cricket for the first time in over a year. This may also be just reward for Easwaran's years of grind on the domestic circuit, which have not yet resulted in an India cap. Suryakumar Yadav, who led India in the T20Is against Sri Lanka, is also not a skipper here. He will be playing under Ruturaj Gaikwad for Team C.

Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul not named as wicketkeepers

Across the four squads, the BCCI has named a total of six players as wicketkeepers. Teams C and D have two wicketkeepers, while Team B has one and perhaps interestingly, Team A has none. This is despite the fact that Team A contains Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul, who have both kept wickets for India in the past year, as well as youngster Kumar Kushagra.

Team B has Rishabh Pant, but the keeper named in that squad is N Jagadeesan. Jurel, Rahul and Pant are thought to be the frontrunners for the keeping gloves in the Indian setup, so seeing none of them named is a tad strange.

Notable exclusions: Pujara, Rahane, Rinku, and more

Among the significant exclusions are India Test stalwarts Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Both players will be taking part in England's County Championship which clashes with the Duleep Trophy, so will not be part of the competition. There is also a sense, however, that the BCCI may be thinking about moving on from the pair. Pujara enjoyed a stellar campaign in the Ranji Trophy last season as the competition's third-highest run-scorer, while Rahane had a lean time with the bat despite leading Mumbai to a 42nd title.

Read more: BCCI appoint Morne Morkel as new India bowling coach - reports

Rinku Singh has also not been named in any of the squads, suggesting that the BCCI may not be keen to try him out in red-ball cricket yet, despite an excellent first-class record. Sanju Samson has not found a place in any side either. Venkatesh Iyer and Prithvi Shaw are also unavailable due to their county commitments.

However, given that those players selected for India duty will need to be replaced, a few of those left out could end up coming into the mix after the first round of matches.

Bengaluru confirmed to host Duleep Trophy

The Duleep Trophy was meant to take place in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh this year. However, given the relative inaccessibility of the venue and the presence of a few star names, there had been speculation over one of the first-round matches being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

This has now been confirmed by the BCCI which mentioned in their squad announcement, "The tournament is set to begin from September 5, 2024, in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru."

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