The third and final round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 came to an end on Sunday (September 22). Here are the key takeaways from this round of fixtures.
Arshdeep makes the most of Khaleel's absence
With Khaleel Ahmed not in action in the third round of fixtures, Arshdeep Singh was the premier left-arm pacer on show. Yash Dayal was selected ahead of him for India's home Test series against Bangladesh, as the new team management looks keen on having a stock of left-armers.
Arshdeep has shone with the white ball for India, and provided a boost to his chances of a red-ball call-up with his performance for India D. In the first innings against India B, he took the wickets of Musheer Khan, Suryakumar Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy to finish with 3-50, before starring in the second.
Defending 372, Arshdeep bowled 11.2 overs unchanged alongside Aditya Thakare. He dismissed Suyash Prabhudessai before taking the big wicket of opposition skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran. Once again, he accounted for SKY, before polishing off the tail to take 6-40, a career-best haul.
If he can continue to impress in the upcoming domestic season, Arshdeep could edge Dayal out for a spot on the plane to Australia.
SKY and red-ball batting remain an uncomfortable fit
Ahead of this year's edition of the Duleep Trophy, Suryakumar Yadav had reiterated his desire to play Test cricket for India. But his performance did his chances no favours here. He was removed by Arshdeep Singh in both innings for five and 16, and still has a way to go before he can break the image of himself as a T20 specialist.
A career average of 43 in the first-class format is not shabby, but it has come amid periods of inconsistency. With other options available to India, and SKY approaching 35 years of age, it will take something truly extraordinary for him to represent India in Test cricket again.
Read more: Five things we learned from India's Chennai crushing of Bangladesh
Musheer's talent needs sterner tests
Musheer Khan stole the show with a breathtaking 181 on a tricky surface against a solid bowling attack in the first round of the competition, but his scores since then read: 0, 1, 5, 0. Even after playing the three Duleep matches, his first-class experience totals nine matches.
The talent is undeniable – before the knock of 181, he had scored 203* and 136 for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. There has also been talk (with no official word) that he could be part of the India 'A' side to tour Australia later this year. If that does happen, it will provide a slightly better look at his fit for the first-class and Test level.
A solid Ranji Trophy season could also do wonders for him, but for now it is too early to talk about fast-tracking Musheer anywhere near the India set-up.
Iyer's chances of a Test recall take a hit
Shreyas Iyer remains a go-to for India in the ODI format, but his chances of a Test recall have begun to slowly dwindle. Indian selectors are known to assign weightage to a large volume of runs, with exceptions made for those who have shown great talent.
Iyer's record in this Duleep Trophy campaign will not have done much to move the selectors, who are dealing with a packed field of batters as it is – a run of 9, 54, 0, 41, 0 and 50 from an established international hardly smacks of a batter breaking the door down.
He has no doubt been entertaining to watch, with both his fifties coming at better than a run-a-ball but his longest innings lasting just 55 balls will not reflect well on him either.
Samson shines but is a Test call-up realistic?
Sanju Samson played in a similar vein to Iyer, and came away looking quite good. Brushing off a low score from the previous round, he excelled with a quickfire 106 in the first innings here, and a promising if not exceptional 45 in the second.
A first-class average of under 40 over the course of a decade or so is unlikely to be discounted by a couple of good knocks. In addition, Samson has found it hard to nail down a spot in the white-ball formats for India, in which he has significantly better records. In a way, it might be freeing for him to play without the expectation of a red-ball call-up.
Is Shashwat Rawat an India middle-order candidate?
India has never been short on batting talent in recent times, and one who could add to the middle-order logjam in the near future is Baroda's Shashwat Rawat. In the latest round of matches, he scored 124 after coming in at 17-3 to help India A to 297, before scoring 53 in the second innings.
Despite not playing the first round of matches, he finished as the tournament's third-highest run-scorer. A diminutive left-hander, Rawat boasts a first-class average of just under 51, and is coming off a 784-run season in the Ranji Trophy.
It is perhaps too early for him to think about national team selection, but one more equally good domestic campaign could see him come into the frame sooner rather than later.
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