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Duleep Trophy sets off an early season debate
The inter-zonal tournament should serve as an ideal India selection pathway, provided the processes are all in place
Within hours of being dropped from the Indian Test team, Cheteshwar Pujara was slotted in the West Zone side for the Duleep trophy. Who did Pujara replace? Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young Mumbai batter who has replaced Pujara in the Test squad for the West Indies and is seen as the likely replacement as India No.3.
If the selectors think Pujara is past his prime, does he need to play Duleep Trophy, a selection pathway for red-ball cricket? If they are not sure that Pujara is done as far as playing for India is concerned, then should he have been dropped? These are not the only unanswered questions ahead of the Duleep Trophy starting on Wednesday, kick-starting the new domestic cricket season.
Pujara isn’t the only one confused. Kerala off-spinner Jalaj Saxena, 36, was the highest wicket-taker in the last Ranji Trophy season. He doesn’t figure in the South Zone side. In his case, it’s presumed it’s too late for him to play for India.
His state coach Tinu Yohanan argues that Saxena has been a consistent performer for years. “If a player is good enough to do very well at the Elite level in Ranji, he should be considered for Duleep. It’s not just the wickets, the players he got out, the conditions, opposition, you look at all those factors. Jalaj has great skills and is at the top of his game.”
Sanjay Jagdale, who was one of India’s longest serving national selectors, said: “Let’s face it, there was never any prestige in playing for zones in the Duleep Trophy, earlier or now. The players take it seriously because they know the selectors are watching. Give them good reasons to believe they are being judged fairly.
“If Jalaj is too old for Duleep Trophy, are Jaydev Unadkat (31), Navdeep Saini (30) and Mukesh Kumar (29) your long-term India prospects?” All three are in the squad for the Caribbean Tests.
The national selectors had no say in choosing this year’s Duleep Trophy squads. Most of the zonal teams were picked by committees that comprised a selector from each state body. Including a national selector in choosing each of the six zonal squads may help.
Other than Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Avesh Khan are all on a comeback trail while the younger Tilak Varma, Sai Sudharsan and Rinku Singh can showcase their game that goes beyond T20 cricket.
SELECTION ROUTE TO INDIA A
The Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru will help the selectors build their targeted player database. But this should only serve as a pathway to India A, not India, says former chief selector MSK Prasad.
“The reciprocal India A programmes need to be revived both in one-day and four-day formats. India A series against proper opponents is the best way to judge if players are ready for Test cricket,” he said. “Mayank Agarwal scored 76 on debut in Melbourne after coming straight from an India A tour of New Zealand. Mohammed Siraj got about six five-wicket hauls at that level before he played a Test. Hardik Pandya got runs and Shardul Thakur got wickets in Australia on an A tour before they made their India debut.”
Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan, who has been delivering Bradmanesque performances for three years in domestic cricket, got a few A tours to prove his mettle.
Prasad is happy that the Duleep Trophy is being played at the start of the season when players are fresh, as opposed to the end of the season, when IPL is approaching.
Yohanan said: “The flip side is most of the players would come to a high-quality red-ball tournament without much match practice. Some will have to cut short their off-season fitness routines.”
But for domestic performers who are not IPL regulars such as Saurabh Kumar, Upendra Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Jayant Yadav and Priyank Panchal, they have to put their best foot forward.
To make Duleep Trophy more competitive, Jagdale and Prasad want BCCI to bring back the old practice of getting a visiting team to play. England’s Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Simon Jones played in the Duleep Trophy in the 2000s.
