The upcoming domestic cricket season for senior men in India, scheduled for 2023-24, is set to commence with the prestigious Duleep Trophy. This tournament will witness the participation of numerous prominent players who have previously showcased their skills in both the domestic season and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After a hiatus of three seasons, the Duleep Trophy was reintroduced last year, bringing forth an exhilarating contest. The West Zone emerged victorious in the final match held in Coimbatore, defeating the South Zone and clinching the championship title.
In the previous edition of the tournament, Yashasvi Jaiswal showcased his batting prowess and emerged as the leading run-scorer, accumulating a remarkable total of 497 runs. On the bowling front, R Sai Kishore demonstrated exceptional skills and claimed the top spot in the bowling charts, securing an impressive tally of 17 wickets. Recognizing his outstanding performances, Jaydev Unadkat was honored as the Player of the Series.
Marking the beginning of the Duleep Trophy 2023, the tournament is scheduled to commence on June 28. All the matches are set to be hosted in Bengaluru, creating an exciting cricketing atmosphere in the city. The grand finale of the tournament will take place at the renowned M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, captivating fans from July 12 to July 16.
6 players from Duleep Trophy squads who could be selected for West Indies series
The Duleep Trophy will also serve as a great opportunity for the players who are just on the door of making it to the Indian team. And with reports that some new faces are likely to make it to the Indian team for the upcoming West Indies series, we take a look at 6 players playing in Duleep Trophy who could be selected into the Indian team for the West Indies series.
Abhimanyu Easwaran
The first name in our list is the Bengal team captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who will also captain the East Zone team in the Duleep Trophy 2023. Easwaran is a great player who has shown his immense talent in the red ball cricket. As of writing this article, he has played 87 first-class matches and has scored 6557 runs at an average of 47.9. He could very well be selected into the Indian team for the upcoming Test series vs West Indies.
Mukesh Kumar
Another Bengal player in the list who is right at the cusp of making it to the Indian team is Mukesh Kumar. Now, many may not have even heard the name, and some did after he played for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2023, but wasn’t so impressive. However, those who follow domestic cricket, are well aware of the name Mukesh Kumar. Mukesh has played 39 first-class matches and has taken 149 wickets with an economy rate of 2.70.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal took the IPL 2023 by a huge storm with his tremendous batting for the Rajasthan Royals. Jaiswal was in magnificent form for Rajasthan and in the domestic cricket as well. And after his performance in the IPL, Jaiswal was called up as a stand-by player for India’s World Test Championship Final vs Australia. However, Jaiswal is much likely to be picked into the Indian team for the T20 series vs West Indies.
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan is a name that every Indian cricket fans wants to see play for India. Called as the Indian Don Bradman, Sarfaraz has been in tremendous form for the Mumbai team in the red ball cricket. The right-hand former India U19 batter has a ridiculous 79.7 average in 37 first-class matches and has scored 3505 runs. He is certainly very much likely to make it to the Indian team very soon, and it could very well be the Test series vs West Indies.
Shivam Mavi
When we talk about some of the quick bowlers in India, youngster Shivam Mavi could be towards the very top of the list. A former India U19 star pacer, got valuable learnings with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He also made his India debut in the T20I series vs Sri Lanka and has thus far played 6 matches and has taken 7 wickets. He is not a sureshot into the Indian team yet, thus he would like to perform well in the Duleep Trophy 2023 to make it to the Indian team for the West Indies series.
Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh has a exceptional season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerging as a finisher, which team India has been searching long for. He played some fabulous innings in the IPL 2023 and the 5 sixes in the last 5 balls vs Gujarat Titans made him a fan favourite and being as “Lord Rinku”. However, Rinku had been consistently doing well for the Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy as well as the white ball tournaments. In 40 first-class matches, Rinku Singh has scored 2875 runs with an average of 59.9. He is very much in the shortlist to the make it to the Indian squad for the series vs West Indies.
