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Sarfaraz Khan won't be withdrawn from Duleep despite selection in India vs Bangladesh Test; Rinku Singh returns: Report
Sarfaraz Khan, despite being selected for the India vs Bangladesh Test, will not be withdrawn from the Duleep Trophy. Rinku Singh, meanwhile, has returned.
Sarfaraz Khan is the only member of India's 16-member squad, picked for the first Test against Bangladesh, who would not be withdrawn from the Duleep Trophy squads. The Indian team's pre-series preparatory camp before the two-match series against Bangladesh will begin in Chennai on September 12 and Sarfaraz will not be a part of that camp. He, instead, will be turning up for India B in their second-round match against India C in the Duleep Trophy in Anantapur, starting September 12, according to ESPNCricinfo.
Sarfaraz was part of the India B XI, which registered a 76-run victory over India A in the Duleep Trophy opener in Bengaluru. He played an enterprising knock of 46 off just 36 balls in the second innings that included seven fours and a six. He would like to add a big score to his kitty before India's home season begins with the Bangladesh Test series on September 19.
The Mumbai cricketer, who had an impressive start to his international career with three half-centuries in three Tests against England earlier this year, is unlikely to feature in India's XI in the series opener in Chennai. Sarfaraz got his Test cap in the middle of the England series due to the injury to KL Rahul, who has now regained fitness and is set to get his spot back in the XI.
Rinku Singh returns, multiple changes in Duleep Trophy squads
The Duleep Trophy teams are set to undergo significant changes ahead of the next round of matches starting on September 12 in Anantapur. Rinku Singh, an Uttar Pradesh batter, will join the India B squad, while most Test players, excluding Sarfaraz Khan, will be withdrawn from the tournament.
Rinku Singh's exclusion from the original Duleep Trophy squads was a bit of a surprise but the left-hander will straightaway come into the XI for the second round fixture.
India A will see several players leave, including Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Akash Deep, making way for Pratham Singh, Akshay Wadkar, Shaik Rasheed, Shams Mulani, and Pulkit Narang.
Vidhwath Kaverappa, a fast bowler, is likely to move from India A to India D. Meanwhile, India B will lose Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Yash Dayal, with Suyash Prabhudesai, Himanshu Mantri, and Rinku Singh replacing them.
India C remains unaffected, but India D will lose Axar Patel and the injured Tushar Deshpande, with Kaverappa and Nishant Sindhu joining their squad.
There is no update yet on Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Prasidh Krishna, all of whom missed the first-round matches due to their respective injuries. However, Surya and Prasidh's recovery is on track.
Likely Duleep Trophy squads
India A: Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat, Pratham Singh, Akshay Wadkar, Shaik Rasheed, Shams Mulani, Pulkit Narang
India B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (wk), Rinku Singh, Suyash Prabhudesai, Himanshu Mantri
India C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wk), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (wk), Sandeep Warrier
India D: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (wk), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (wk), Saurabh Kumar, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Nishant Sindhu
