
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane left out of Duleep Trophy squad
The Duleep Trophy has returned to its traditional zonal format a year after being contested as a four-team tournament. Notably, the 2024–25 edition of the tournament featured four teams, namely India A, India B, India C, and India D.Last year, India A were crowned champions of the tournament after they finished at the top of the points table with two wins from three matches, having 12 points to their name. However, the four-team format was given a thumbs down at the recent BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) Annual General Meeting.The tournament returns to its original format where six teams from as many zones - Central, East, West, North, South, and North East - are taking part in the tournament. This, in turn, provides more opportunities to the players from their respective zones. Hence, the BCCI has decided to bring back the zonal format to give fair opportunities to all the players.Duleep Trophy: West Zone SquadShardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswalla.- EndsMust Watch
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Irfan Pathan reveals Gary Kirsten's 'exact words' that confirmed MS Dhoni dropped him: 'If it had been anyone else...'
When Irfan Pathan first burst onto the scene, the expectations were sky-high. He was just 19 when he made his Test debut in Australia – a daunting stage for any newcomer – and immediately caught attention with his aggression, swing, and accuracy. Within a year, he was drafted into the ODI squad and soon became a regular across formats, even featuring in India's first-ever T20I in 2006 against South Africa. Irfan Pathan spoke about MS Dhoni's role in his being dropped from Team India(AFP) But in 2009, the promising script took an abrupt turn. Having already been sidelined from the Test side a year earlier, Irfan faced another major blow when he was dropped from the ODI setup after a series against Sri Lanka. The setback was crushing – he would spend the next three years away from the format, which enjoyed a significantly higher priority than the T20Is at the time. By the time his recall came in 2012, the landscape of Indian fast bowling had shifted. New faces like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma had staked their claim with consistent performances, making the competition stiffer than ever. Irfan managed just 12 more ODIs in that comeback before his international career quietly wound down, culminating in his retirement in 2020. 5 years since his retirement, Irfan has finally opened up on the circumstances that led to his departure from the national team. The left-armer, who was handy with the bat in the lower order, too, revealed the reasoning he was given about being dropped, and how MS Dhoni – the Indian captain at the time – took the call to sideline the pacer. 'It was back in 2009, when we were in New Zealand. Before that, my brother (Yusuf Pathan) and I had won matches in Sri Lanka. The situation in which we had pulled a win – if it had been anyone else in our place, they wouldn't have been dropped for a year. In that match against Sri Lanka, we needed 60 runs from just 27–28 balls, and we won it from there,' Irfan began as he narrated the story during a chat with TheLallantop. 'In New Zealand, I was benched for the first match, the second match, and the third match as well. The fourth match was a draw because of rain. I wasn't in the final match either. Then I asked Gary sir why I had been dropped. If there was something I needed to improve, he could tell me, but I wanted to know the reason I was left out.' Gary's two reasons Kirsten was India's head coach at the time, and Irfan revealed how it became clear to him through the South African's explanation that Dhoni was involved in his being dropped. 'Kirsten gave me two reasons. He said, 'There are things that are not in my hand.' Those were Gary's exact words. I asked whose hands it was in, but he didn't tell me. I already knew whose hands it was in. The playing XI is decided by the captain's choice. The decision rests with the captain, coach, and management. Dhoni was the captain at that time. I won't get into whether that decision was right or wrong, because every captain has the right to run the team in his own way,' Pathan said. 'The second answer was that they were looking for a batting all-rounder at No. 7. Fair enough — my brother was a batting all-rounder, while I was a bowling all-rounder. The two were different from each other, but there was only room for one in the team. Nowadays, if you ask whether two all-rounders are needed, people would gladly take both.'


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Shubman Gill hype crushed as Suryakumar Yadav to stay T20I captain; Jaiswal, Iyer's Asia Cup fate revealed: Report
The entire narrative around Shubman Gill and his potential return to the T20I fold as captain for the upcoming Asia Cup has been crushed. A fresh media report revealed that the BCCI selection committee is likely to stick with Suryakumar Yadav as captain. The continental tournament is set to begin on September 9 in the UAE. Shubman Gill unlikely to make Asia Cup squad(AP-AFP-PTI) According to a report in the Times of India, the Asia Cup squad will be announced by chief selector Ajit Agarkar at a press conference in Mumbai on August 19, following a selection committee meeting. "Yes, the team for the Asia Cup will be picked on August 19 in Mumbai. The selection committee meeting will be followed by a press conference by chief selector, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar," a source told the newspaper. The report also mentioned that incumbent T20I skipper Suryakumar will attend the meeting in Mumbai. The star batter is currently at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, recovering from sports hernia surgery. In a recent update, Suryakumar has already resumed training in the nets at the CoE. Why was Gill's name in speculation for leadership? The report further quashed the much-speculated notion that Gill would be named India's new T20I captain following his heroics on the tour of England. In his maiden assignment as India Test captain, he led the young team to a stunning 2-2 draw, scoring a record 754 runs in 10 innings during the five-match series. While his performance prompted experts to back Gill as India's next all-format captain, the report confirmed that Suryakumar will retain the captaincy. In fact, it revealed that the 25-year-old may not even make the squad, with selectors set to continue with the current opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. It also added that Yashasvi Jaiswal has been asked to focus on red-ball cricket and hence will likely miss the Asia Cup, while Shreyas Iyer is expected to be overlooked despite his improved performance in the IPL earlier this year. "In fact, with India intending to persist with the opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, Gill is currently struggling to even make the squad. Even Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a strong series in England, and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer are likely to be left out. Jaiswal has been advised by the selectors to concentrate on red-ball cricket," a source revealed.


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Shubman Gill needs players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma': India legend sends bold message to BCCI
Since announcing their Test retirements and leading India to Champions Trophy glory, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli haven't featured in any international match. The pair have already retired from T20Is, and there have already been question marks over their ODI future too. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retired from Tests and T20Is.(X Images) But former India cricketer Suresh Raina feels the pair are crucial to India's ODI setup, as the pair can guide the younger players too. Suresh Raina backs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli Speaking to Telecom Asia Sport, he said, 'Rohit and Virat's experience is very important. It's crucial for the seniors to stay involved with the juniors. Shubman (Gill) has done really well, but he needs players like Virat and Rohit.' 'They have won the Champions Trophy, they have won the World Cups. Virat won the last IPL also. For the astute leadership they have shown during their respective careers, they need to be part of the dressing room.' Rohit and Kohli are expected to make their returns to international in the Australia tour later this year, which includes three ODIs. Meanwhile, Raina also backed Siraj to feature in all three formats, explaining his importance to the Indian team. 'Siraj should be part of the Indian set-up in all three formats, given how he has performed for the country with both the white ball and red ball. He bowled 187 overs in the series and came through without any niggle,' he said. There has also been huge uncertainty over Rohit and Kohli's future, but the pair have expressed their desire to participate at the 2027 World Cup. There have been reports that the BCCI wants them to feature in domestic cricket during their time away from the international setup, and failing to do so might se them get dropped. The last time such suggestions were made, the pair ended up retiring from Test cricket. So it their ODI future is not confirmed officially by BCCI.