Thick clouds blanketed the M Chinnaswamy Stadium throughout Wednesday morning, as the groundsmen, the sizable broadcast crew and other officials hunkered down to get the venue match-ready for Thursday’s domestic season opener.
The Duleep Trophy game between India A and India B here will be one with multiple layers and intrigues. So will the simultaneous meeting of India C and India D in Anantapur, roughly 200 kilometres north of the city.
India’s Test set-up is expected to enter an era of inevitable reset, with auditions underway for key positions in the middle order and pace attack.
The 2024-25 Domestic season is set to kick off tomorrow with the prestigious Duleep Trophy! It’s an exciting start as four teams, featuring some of the finest longer format cricketers in the country will go head to head.
With a packed red ball calendar ahead for Team India,… pic.twitter.com/HPSSSwau6o
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 4, 2024
Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep impressed during India’s 3-1 series win over England earlier in the year. Now, Rohit Sharma’s side is preparing for home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand before embarking on a tour to Australia, a challenge on an entirely different plane.
Ahead of these assignments, the batters have to find ways to counter spin and firm up their game against pace on a greenish Bengaluru strip and, in the subsequent rounds, on pacy Anantapur pitches.
As the large group returned to the ‘basics’ and their ‘processes’ from a prolonged red-ball slumber, Yashasvi Jaiswal unfurled two fresh willows from their wrappings and headed for a typically extended batting session.
In an adjacent net, brothers Sarfaraz Khan and Musheer were fending off balls from the crease. As Musheer rocked back to a fuller ball, Sarfaraz shouted out to remind the ‘process’. “Ball ke saamne jaa kar khelo (move to the line of the ball and drive),” he reminded his younger sibling who duly complied.
At the far end, Kuldeep Yadav had a long spell at Gill and the other India A batters under the watchful eye of former India spinner Sunil Joshi, in charge of the A side. Joshi’s inputs were vital in the wrist-spinner’s return to the national fold. The Karnataka veteran was once again seen sharing a few inputs before Kuldeep hopped back into his bowling stride.
Can Not Wait! ⏳
The 2024-25 Domestic Season kicks off with the prestigious #DuleepTrophy tomorrow!
ARE YOU READY❓
📺 JioCinema
💻📱 https://t.co/pQRlXkCguc@IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/FunqwNrNLm— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 4, 2024
Lot of contenders
The match results may only be of academic significance but India A captain Gill said that the game would be a high-quality affair where a bunch of “competent” players, having a lot of Test caps among them, would aim to dominate proceedings.
He admitted that a tightening of his defence helped him revitalise his Test form in the England series, where he finished as the second-highest run-getter behind Jaiswal. While he found success batting at number 3 for India, Gill confirmed a return to the opener’s slot given the personnel in the India A squad.
During the net session, the 24-year-old advanced to the spinners, irrespective of length, and found ways to manoeuvre deliveries into imaginary gaps.
Gill’s net partner KL Rahul, though, had a tough time under gloomy skies. Set to leave the wicket-keeping gloves for Jurel, Rahul swept the tweakers with flair but endured an arduous duel against Akash Deep. The Bengal pacer found the edge regularly and later clattered the stumps with a jagging delivery before they concluded the session.
The pace bowlers, 21 of them across four teams, form the biggest talking point of the tournament.
However, Karnataka quick Prasidh Krishna has been ruled out of the opening round, extending his eight-month wait for a competitive return. In his absence, Prasidh’s state-mate Vidwath Kaverappa can form a menacing trio for India A, alongside the impressive Akash Deep and Avesh Khan.
A bunch of seamers will line up for India B too, with Yash Dayal and Navdeep Saini jostling for space alongside Mukesh Kumar and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who appeared to have recovered from his injury.
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who checked in for a late hit at the nets, will also be followed keenly as he charts his Test comeback with India B, led by Abhimanyu Easwaran. While there is a steady supplement of spinners in the absence of stalwarts R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the contenders can, at best, rearrange the long string of potential successors helmed by Kuldeep and Axar Patel.
As far as pace bowling is concerned, the green on the surface will provide a context with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami there to fall back upon as the season’s first Test in Chennai approaches.
Squads (in Bengaluru):
India A: Shubman Gill (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat.
India B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (wk).
Players in focus
Middle-order batters: With KL Rahul headlining the set, Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer will push to strengthen their cases for the Australia tour. Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal and all-rounders Tilak Varma and Riyan Parag can enter the fray with noteworthy contributions.
Wicketkeepers: The focus will be on Rishabh Pant’s red-ball return after 21 months. But Rahul’s middle-order returns and Dhruv Jurel’s form could challenge Pant’s seamless reintegration into the Test side.
Pacers: With a fine Test debut against England and superior red-ball fitness, Akash Deep will be primed to make India’s seam back-up list. Vidwath Kaverappa (80 First-Class wickets in 20 games), Delhi’s Himanshu Chauhan (30 in 7 FC games), Harshit Rana, Vyshak Vijaykumar (86 in 20 games) and Nitish Kumar Reddy will be the others who can get into the discussion.
