Suryakumar Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan and Cheteshwar Pujara and a Duleep Trophy battle of their own

The West Zone batting trio will be looking to breathe life into their India Test ambitions in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone

The Duleep Trophy semi-final between West Zone and Central starting on Wednesday will be played away from the limelight – literally, for BCCI doesn’t have a broadcast deal – in quaint Alur, near Bengaluru. For three West Zone batters though, it is as high-profile as it comes.

Sarfaraz,Khan at 25, may have more time on his hands, but has been left in a quandary by the selectors. (PTI)

Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav and Sarfaraz Khan know it won’t be just the runs they score, but how they score will also be closely watched. Each has enjoyed a purple patch at different levels and formats, but not being in the Test squad means they all have a point to prove.

A new season generally brings nervous excitement. And the trio will be conscious of the new World Test Championship cycle. It begins in a week in the West Indies but they won’t be part of that party.

Pujara has enjoyed the peak at elite level for long. But big runs stopped coming in the last three seasons and he finds himself out of the India side for the second time in 18 months. At 35, he doesn’t want to give up, though if 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal makes a mark in the two Tests, his own domestic runs may no longer matter as much.

Yadav’s case is more curious. Only two years back, despite his decade-long domestic run, he was nowhere near Test reckoning. Then, the Mumbai batter tasted international success at 30, in T20s. For two years, he aced the format better than anyone else. At some point, then head coach Ravi Shastri saw a Test cricketer in him, and though parachuted into the side for England in 2021, he didn’t get a chance. With the Test game constantly picking up pace, Yadav’s opportunity to wear India whites finally arrived, in February at Nagpur against Australia. A solitary failure later, Yadav is forgotten.

Sarfaraz, at 25, may have more time on his hands, but has been left in a quandary by the selectors. He has amassed runs in Ranji Trophy. However, 3,505 runs in 37 first-class matches over three seasons at an average of 79.65 hasn’t got the selectors’ nod.

He’s untested against high pace, can’t withstand bouncers, he’s unathletic, indisciplined – all have been speculated in the absence of any official word whether the selectors have spoken to the player.

If Sarfaraz needs fresh inspiration, he could seek Pujara’s counsel. A glance at Pujara’s early career graph would give him hope. Touted as a flat-bed run-machine because he scored his home runs at batting-friendly Rajkot, Pujara’s domestic averages across seasons read 59.90, 73.36, 82.36 and 79.14 before he was able to break the selection door open.

A competent Central Zone bowling attack though lies in wait. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and pacer Avesh Khan were among wickets in the impressive quarter-final win over North East Zone. Pacer Shivam Mavi with his swing and Yash Thakur, fresh from a successful IPL for Lucknow Super Giants, will also be a force.

SELECTION CALL

By leaving out Pujara, the selectors have looked past his old-school batting philosophy, which would unfailingly rescue India when the chips were down. By not persisting with Yadav, they have refused to give his imaginative stroke-play a chance in the middle-order. With Sarfaraz, they seem to be sending across a message that they are still not impressed with what they have seen.

In each of these rejections, there is a statement too by the selectors that they see Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad as better alternatives. They will be under pressure to perform on their maiden tour in the two Tests.

For West Zone, Priyank Panchal, another heavy domestic run-getter, and Prithvi Shaw, who finds his career at the crossroads despite his talent, will open the batting. This cast of Test aspirants gives the Duleep Trophy knockout round a whole new meaning.