Veteran opener KL Rahul, Sri Lanka series hero Devdutt Padikkal and seasoned pacer Mohammed Siraj have been asked to play the Duleep Trophy final for South Zone against East Zone starting September 6 in Chennai. It is understood that participation of South Zone skipper Tilak Varma, rising sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and keeper Ishan Kishan, all of whom are in India’s T20I team, will depend on approval from Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
The trio played last on August 27. The next they will play is September 27 against West Indies in the ODIs.
But Duleep final if there is a chance, they should play,” a BCCI source privy to the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity. “Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj do not have any competitive cricket right now. The national selectors want any India player who is available should play the Duleep Trophy final. “Now Padikkal is not a part of ODIs so he might play India A series.
“The Indian team will assemble in Delhi on either September 9 or 10. But if head coach wants them to play the final and report to Delhi on September 10 late evening, they can also do that,” the source added.
Chairman of selectors Agarkar to watch Duleep final “They are not part of official Indian contingent and will only be there till the Indian men play their first game on September 26, provided the BCCI can arrange for their Japanese visa on time before the team departs from Delhi on September 20,” the source added. If head coach wants all three to report as per T20I team’s itinerary, then the trio can’t play.
