Indian players produced a forgetful show in the recently concluded three-match Test series against New Zealand and went on to lose all three matches. Indian players looked clueless against Kiwi stars despite playing at home. The batters struggled against Kiwi spinners, whereas Indian spinners were not able to trouble the New Zealand batters throughout the series.
The poor performances by senior players raised question marks over their future. Many fans and former greats of the game feel that the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin missed the trick by not playing in the Duleep Trophy 2024, as it would have served as an ideal preparatory tournament for them ahead of the jam-packed Test season.
Selectors wanted all the Indian players to play at least one match in the Duleep Trophy to get match practice, but the seniors rejected the request, citing ‘lack of motivation’.
According to the available information, “the selection committee planned for all top players to be available for the Duleep Trophy in order to provide them some match practice before the red-ball season. Rohit and Kohli, along with other key players, gave their consent initially. However, some of the top players later decided to withdraw their names and went into the two Tests against Bangladesh (in September) and the three against New Zealand without much recent red-ball cricket under their belt.”
“When Sharma, Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah didn’t participate in the Duleep Trophy, the selection committee decided to release Ravindra Jadeja, who had agreed to play in the domestic tournament,” the report added.
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, and Washington Sundar were among the Indian players who featured in Duleep Trophy 2024, and Jaiswal, Gill, Sarfaraz, and Sundar managed to play at least one good knock in the series against New Zealand as well.
