CHENNAI: EVEN as the Indian team is gearing up for the men's T20 Asia Cup, all eyes will be on the star players who will take the field in the opening round of Duleep Trophy from Friday.
Set to be played at the BCCI- Centre of Excellence, the first round of the tournament will be the curtain raiser for the domestic season featuring the likes Dhruv Jurel, Arshdeep Singh, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Kuldeep Yadav and others. India Test captain Shubman Gill was initially set to lead North Zone but having been down with viral fever, it seems unlikely for him to play. For after the first round fixture, he is expected to join the Indian team for the Asia Cup.
Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who was warming the bench through the five-Test series in England, will have a point to prove and same will be the case for Kuldeep Yadav who will be turning out for Central Zone. Much like them, Easwaran will have the extra motivation to make a statement with the bat as he leads East Zone in the absence of Ishan Kishan against North Zone.
Apart from them, Anshul Kamboj is another player who will be itching to get back into the groove. After a forgettable debut in Manchester, Kamboj came under the lens for his lack of pace and intensity. The Haryana workhorse is expected to take the field for North Zone on Friday.
Harshit Rana, another pacer in the scheme for the national team, was in New Delhi until Tuesday playing for North Delhi Strikers in the Delhi Premier League tournament. He might fly out to Bengaluru on Thursday but it remains to be seen whether he plays in the first round game on Friday.
For Jurel and Patidar, both will be turning out for Central Zone, the tournament provides an opportunity to pile on runs and stake their claim in the main Test squad before the West Indies series in November. Same remains the case for Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer as both of them will be playing for West Zone in the semifinal. They will be taking on the winner among Central and North East from September 4. This tournament will also be crucial for Mohammed Shami who has been out of the Indian team. The veteran pacer's dodgy knee has kept him out of the Test team for a long time now and will be interesting to see how his body copes over four days during the clash between North Zone and East Zone.
South Zone is the only domestic team that will not see several India players like KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, B Sai Sudharsan playing for them. Apart from skipper Tilak Varma, Devdutt Padikkal is one player to keep an eye on as he returns to action after a long injury layoff. He injured his hamstring during the Indian Premier League and will be making a comeback to red-ball cricket for the first time in months. Similarly, R Sai Kishore, who missed the ongoing Buchi Babu tournament due to injury, will also be making a comeback. They will be taking the field on September 4 against the winners between North and East. For now, however, all eyes will be on the stars who take the field in the first round come Friday.