Predicting the first playing 11 of Team B of Duleep Trophy 2024 ft. Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal
The 2024 Duleep Trophy is the first time in a while that a huge number of national and IPL stars will be divided into only a handful of teams - A, B, C, and D - to put up performances that'll shape India's Test future.
Each team has its unique qualities and a bit of an identity. If you have to summarize that for team 'B', it'd be aggression -- it's full of men who will not hold behind with either bat and ball or their words.
Below, we have predicted how its first 11 might shape up.
Top-order: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Musheer Khan
The third-highest run-scorer in the history of Bengal first-class cricket, Abhimanyu Easwaran, would feel he has got his due respect by being given the captaincy armband of Team B despite there being many international stars in the squad.
The right-handed, technically compact, opening batter has been in and around the national side but a Test debut has evaded him for years. This is a golden opportunity for him to throw his name in the ring for the possible opening replacements for Rohit Sharma after his nearing Test retirement.
Easwaran's determined batting will brilliantly complement the power of Yashasvi Jaiswal at the other end. A sure-shot in the Indian Test 11 irrespective of what happens in the Duleep Trophy, Jaiswal should look at these games as much-needed match-practice against quality bowlers ahead of the Bangladesh series.
Jaiswal's Mumbai teammate, the ever-impressive Musheer Khan, should come and bat at number three. Among all the players ages 20 and under playing domestic cricket in the country, he's among those who look the closest to the India 11 and his selection in the Duleep Trophy is another proof of that.
He scored 529 runs and picked up seven wickets in his debut Ranji Trophy season earlier this year. The right-handed batter and left-arm orthodox bowler never looked uncomfortable -- instead, he was happy to sledge and show his passion -- facing international players throughout the tournament, which should continue.
Middle-order: Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar
This is one of the best middle orders in the 2024 Duleep Trophy. Adding to the firepower of Jaiswal and Musheer are the latter's elder brother Sarfaraz Khan and India's dear red-ball cricket returnee Rishabh Pant.
Sarfaraz would fight to maintain the place he earned in the Indian Test 11 against England earlier in the year, while Pant would want to display that he's fit and ready to keep wickets and score like only he can in the format. Seeing their right-hand-left-hand aggressive combination bat together would be nothing short of a thriller.
Three all-rounders would supplement them to allow their natural game to come through. The first, Nitish Kumar Reddy's participation is subject to fitness but if he recovers from his injury, he'd be one of the all-rounders to watch out for.
The IPL 2024 Emerging Player of the Year is being touted as the next best fast-bowling all-rounder talent in the country, thanks to his savior-like batting knocks and occasional wickets. Here, he'd be able to test himself against the best in a format where India has even fewer players with his skillset than white-ball cricket.
Ravindra Jadeja is one of the few senior Indian players to play in the tournament. He hasn't had a lot of cricket to play in the last six months, with even the 2024 T20 World Cup being less demanding from him than other members of the squad.
Apart from being a guide to Musheer and other youngsters, he'd be happy to hone his skills and get the juices flowing, especially with the bat, ahead of a big season.
Washington Sundar, meanwhile, would look to not only learn from Jadeja but do enough with his performances to be seen as his potential replacement in the future. India needs to start thinking about the future after Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja and Sundar's wickets and runs here would put him right in those plans.
Bowlers: R Sai Kishore, Mukesh Kumar, and Mohammed Siraj
R Sai Kishore, by far the best performer and leading wicket-taker of the last Ranji Trophy, would extend the batting depth of this team to number nine. The left-arm spinner, who is an underrated batter, is also fighting for the limited space available behind Ashwin and Jadeja in the national team.
He did well in IPL 2024 as well but due to the Gujarat Titans' dismal campaign, didn't get enough opportunities. With the more comfortable red ball against players of similar quality, he'd want to show that he belongs at a higher level as well.
Indian pacers Mukesh Kumar and Mohammed Siraj will round off this team. The duo has been impressive in patches in the last few months but now would be fighting for the same spot for the upcoming Test season, which should bring out the best in them.