Why this upcoming Duleep Trophy is important for Test hopefuls

With India set to play ten Tests in the season, this tournament will give players opportunity to seal their spot in the team

Indians players who will be present at the opening round of Duleep Trophy (File Photo)

CHENNAI : 19 - That is how many capped India Test players will be in action in the opening round of the Duleep Trophy that begins on Thursday. From the outset, it might seem like a random number, but nothing signifies the tournament and where the Indian Test team is at the moment like that number.

This is no exaggeration. The last time the number of India Test players in a Duleep Trophy touched double digits was in 2016 (10). Since then, it has been anywhere between three to nine over the past five seasons (there was no Duleep Trophy in 2020-21 and 2021-22 because of the COVID-19 pandemic). And there is a good reason for it.

With India's mainstays predominantly playing all three formats from 2013 to 2022, they barely played any domestic cricket, especially in the longer format. At this time, Duleep Trophy, by and large, is a tournament that is seen as the next stage for Ranji cricketers and where fringe players who are still in the scheme of things try to make a comeback to the Test team.

However, for the first time in a long while, the tournament will see a striking number of Indian Test players taking part in Duleep Trophy, not just with the intention of getting ready for the long Test season, but also fighting for different spots among their contemporaries. India began their transition in the longest format much before the limited overs with the infusion of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Yashavi Jaiswal - all of whom had proved their mettle in past Duleep Trophy editions - and Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel - they got a chance earlier this year when the seniors were unavailable or dropped.

And most of them have taken to international cricket like fish to water. Gill is the anointed No. 3, Jaiswal has taken the cricketing world by storm, Khan and Jurel's nerves of steel received appreciation from the entire fraternity. Padikkal had his moment as well. And all five of them played a crucial role in India hammering England 4-1 after the loss in Hyderabad. And yet, as things stand, only Jaiswal and Gill have their place assured in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. Jurel is likely to be India's first-choice keeper, but in the long run, it is not a certainty.

Jurel, Padikkal, Khan, and Patidar will be competing in the Duleep Trophy not just as preparation but also with senior players like KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan trying to make a comeback. Add Suryakumar Yadav, who is ruled out of the opening round but might play later, too and it is a heavy mix. That Virat Kohli will walk into the XI for Chennai means there is only one spot available for which Khan, Iyer, and Rahul will be fighting for. While Khan is the incumbent and will make the cut for the squad, he came into the picture when Rahul got injured. So it remains to be seen how that selection goes.

Iyer and Kishan, on the other hand, were out of favour and were dropped. They might take some time to come back to the Test side. In Pant's case, the selectors and team management will not want to rush him back into the Test grind and would want to keep him ready for the five-Test series Down Under, where he has been crucial for the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophy victories. Now, it all might seem batting-heavy, but there are several Test bowlers in the mix too, especially pacers.

While Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah will make the first-choice three-man pace attack when India needs them - the three are not playing in the opening round of Duleep Trophy and Shami is expected to play the first round of Ranji - there are a pool of pacers India are looking at.

Prasidh Krishna is making a comeback from injury, Akash Deep, who made his debut against England, Avesh Khan, who has had to wait for his chance, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vidwath Kaverappa all will be in action and so will the two seam-bowling all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy (if fit) and Shivam Dube. Before the India tour of Australia, the selectors and team management would want to have at least ten pacers ready to take the field as and when necessary.

All things considered, not in a long time has there been this much excitement about the Duleep Trophy in terms of players to look at and the context in which they are taking part. And everyone's eyes will be in Bengaluru and Anantpur till the first Test against Bangladesh begins on September 19.