Duleep Trophy Start Date and Which Players will Participate in it

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has confirmed that Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium will host the opening match of India’s domestic cricket season, featuring a Duleep Trophy game.

Duleep Trophy Start Date

The first of the six four-day red-ball matches, beginning on September 5, has been relocated to Bengaluru at the request of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

A KSCA official confirmed, “The BCCI requested us to host the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and we have agreed.” This change reflects the BCCI’s strategy to involve key international and domestic players in the Duleep Trophy ahead of the upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, which starts on September 18.

The four-team Duleep Trophy is a multi-day first-class competition conducted in a league format, with no knockout stages. The tournament is scheduled to conclude on September 22.

Which Players will Participate in Duleep Trophy?

Top Indian cricketers, excluding Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah, have been given the option to decide whether they want to participate, considering their heavy workload.

A source explained that the exemption for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is due to their extensive workloads. “It’s their choice whether to play or not,” the source said. Rohit last played a domestic match in 2021, while Kohli hasn’t participated in a national-level game since 2015.

Jasprit Bumrah is exempt from domestic duties, while Mohammed Shami, still recovering from surgery, is also expected to miss the competition.

Most international players, such as KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, are expected to play, either in full or part of the tournament. The selectors are likely to include Ishan Kishan, who has been overlooked for recent international assignments, in one of the four squads.

Hardik Pandya, who has ceased playing red-ball cricket, will not be participating.

The decision to include international players in the domestic tournament was made collaboratively by the BCCI and selectors, with new coach Gautam Gambhir playing a role in the process.

This move aligns with the BCCI’s effort to ensure that top players contribute to domestic competitions, addressing concerns about their frequent absences. Last year, the board notably excluded Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan from the central contract list as part of this policy.