3 pacers in contention for India national Test squad based on Duleep Trophy
The first round of Duleep Trophy has concluded with India B and India C securing crucial wins, led by Rishabh Pant and Ruturaj Gaikwad, respectively. There were many magnificent individual performances by the likes of Musheer Khan, KL Rahul, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, and Baba Indrajith.
These two Duleep Trophy fixtures attracted a lot of attention as there are multiple spots up for grabs in Team India for the home test series against Bangladesh, set to begin on September 19 in Chennai.
With Jasprit Bumrah set to be rested, Mohammed Siraj's workload being managed and Mohammed Shami still recovering from his injury, this series is going to be an audition for the next set of pacers who could take up the fourth spot for the Border Gavaskar trophy Down Under later this year.
Let us take a look at three pacers who made the best use of Duleep Trophy matches and stand ahead in the pecking order for Team India selection for the international season.
#1 Akash Deep
The rising star of Indian cricket, Akash Deep, was the stand out pacer across the two Duleep trophy matches. With a total of nine wickets in the match against a strong India B side that had the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Rishabh Pant in the batting lineup, Akash Deep seems to be a lock for the pacer slot in the playing XI. He also scored handy runs down the order, including a gritty 43 in the fourth innings.
#2 Yash Dayal
Yash Dayal's transformation this year has been a delight for cricket fans. He was brilliant for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, picking 15 wickets. In the Duleep Trophy fixture, Dayal was impressive against India A and picked the key wickets of Riyan Parag (twice), Dhruv Jurel, and Mayank Agarwal. Alongside Mukesh and Saini, he stood out and is certainly knocking on Team India's doors.
#3 Navdeep Saini
Navdeep Saini previously lost his place in the Indian setup due to a lack of control and inconsistency. However, Saini was great in the Duleep Trophy match and took five wickets for India B against India A, playing a major role in his side's victory. Not to forget, he scored a fifty and was involved in a 205-run partnership with Musheer Khan. His ability to break through the top order and maintaining his pace throughout the innings would definitely have impressed the selectors.
Yash Dayal and Akash Deep have already been rewarded with a place in the first Test match against Bangladesh. Navdeep Saini will look to keep up his performances in the remaining Duleep Trophy fixtures to make his case stronger for the rest of the season.