Duleep Trophy: R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah Out; Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal Confirmed But Question Mark Over Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

Duleep Trophy has been in the spotlight ever since reports emerged that the selectors want a majority of India Test regulars and hopefuls to be part of the domestic season opener.

The reasons why India stars have been asked to be available for the red-ball competition is to give them some game time before the two-match Test series against Bangladesh gets underway from September 19 and because of the BCCI diktat that international players should play domestic cricket when not on national duty.

So the big question: Will all international players be part of the competition?

We take a look

Rohit, Kohli Given Choice

While the selectors will be chuffed to bits if both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli decide to be part of Duleep Trophy, it’s been reported that the two stalwarts have been given the freedom to decide if they want to be part of the tourney.

Rohit last played a Test in March this year during the home series against England while Kohli’s last red-ball game was in January while on South Africa tour. Given they have retired from T20Is, it won’t be a stretch if either or both end up making themselves available

Ashwin, Bumrah to Skip?

Pace ace Jasprit Bumrah and star offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin will both be exempted from the tournament. Bumrah is in the midst of a prolonged rest while Ashwin is expected to directly play the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.

Is Shami Available?

No clarity. Even chief of selector Ajit Agarkar said to be unaware over Mohammed Shami’s  comeback from a long injury-forced layoff. However, he did say that the target was the Bangladesh series. Could Shami eventually decide to take par to shake off the cobwebs given he last played a competitive match in November last year?

Will Rishabh Make Red-ball Return?

As per PTI, the selectors are still mulling over Rishabh Pant’s red-ball return. Should they give it a go ahead, it will be the wicketkeeper-batter’s first red-ball assignment since returning from his horrific accident in December 2022.

What About Others?

Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer Kuldeep Yadav among others are expected to be available for this tournament fully or partially. India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai) and Ishan Kishan (Jharkhand) have already made themselves available to play the Buchi Babu Trophy, starting from August 15.