File image of Axar Patel.© X (Twitter)

As several senior India players prepare for the Duleep Trophy first round from September 5, one goal is clear from the squad selection process by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI): the need for fast bowlers. India’s lead crop, headlined by Jasprit Bumrah and ably supported by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, may be one of the finest in the world. But with Bumrah frequently rested, Shami yet to regain fitness and Siraj sometimes blowing hot and cold, the BCCI are aiming to develop a crop capable of taking over from the lead act.

The BCCI elected more than 20 pacers across the four squads for the Duleep Trophy. Several of the lot are uncapped at the international level, while some others have barely a few India matches to their name.

“It’s a question of identifying the right ones and giving them opportunities to be ready for the Australian trip. There are lots of bowlers who hit 140-150 kph in the IPL. So it is about nurturing and giving them the right exposure,” said former India bowling coach Bharat Arun, speaking to The Indian Express.

While the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep have been tried, none of them have reached even 30 international matches across all formats. Even Arshdeep Singh has not been fancied for the longer format. Arun emphasised the importance of the Duleep Trophy.

“Red ball cricket is something these bowlers must get used to. We have time but we need to prepare by giving them enough overs under their belt.

“Bowling in first-class cricket, you bowl on unresponsive pitches. You have to come out with some guile or you would need to learn how to reverse the ball because of the conditions that exist in our country. I think it helped Siraj and Shami a great deal,” Arun added.

Another former India bowling coach, Paras Mhambrey, downplayed the importance of performing in the IPL in order to judge a bowler’s skill. Notably, the likes of Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak are all in the Duleep Trophy lineups, but arguably thanks to their IPL form. Mhambrey took the example of Umran Malik to reiterate his point.

“Umran is a classic case of who has not played enough red-ball cricket. He came to the reckoning through the IPL. That’s 24 balls in a game. The amount of pressure of bowling 24 balls is not like the red ball. I feel this (T20) is not a format to judge a prospect,” said Mhambrey to The Indian Express.

Full list of fast bowlers and pace-bowling all-rounders selected for Duleep Trophy first round:

Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Umran Malik, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Anshul Kamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Aditya Thakare, Akash Sengupta, Navdeep Saini, Mohit Avasthi, Sandeep Warrier, Gaurav Yadav, Shivam Dube, Nitish Reddy

Indian pacer Harshit Rana posted a heartwarming picture on social media, celebrating his call-up to the ODI team with his father and telling him that this accomplishment of his life “belongs to him”. Harshit Rana was among the younger and newer stars named in the white-ball team for India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka starting from July 27 onwards. This will be India’s first-ever international assignment under the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir. The former opener was announced as India’s coach earlier in July after Rahul Dravid’s contract ended following Men in Blue’s ICC T20 World Cup title win.

Taking to Instagram, Rana wrote, “This BELONGS to you…LOVE YOU DAD.” In the past, Rana lifted his father, Pradeep, in his arms, who was wearing an Indian jersey.

Rana was also a part of the squad for the Zimbabwe tour this month, which involved five T20I matches, but did not play a game. Harshit had a splendid IPL with tournament winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a team which Gambhir mentored to their first title in a decade and overall their third. The 22-year-old picked 19 wickets at an average of 20.15, picking big scalps throughout the season, including Heinrich Klaasen, Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis, and KL Rahul. He was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the season.

Notably, Rana has taken 28 wickets in 25 T20Is. Notably, the Delhi bowler can bat as well, as he has a century and fifty each in first-class cricket, in which he averages 49.00 in nine innings with a strike rate of 89.

India will be led by two different captains for the T20I and ODI legs of the Sri Lanka tour, all set to commence on 27 July. With Rohit Sharma having retired from the T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side in the shortest format against Sri Lanka. Barring a few changes, the side bears a familiar look to the squad that featured in India’s successful ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign.

The ODI side sees a number of stalwarts, including Rohit and Virat Kohli, return to the setup. The squad looks similar to the one which dominated the 2023 50-over World Cup in India, ending up as runners-up to Australia in a heartbreaking loss after a 10-match win streak.

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), duhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

1. Hardik Pandya not part of leadership group

Whilst Gambhir’s faith in Suryakumar Yadav is not a surprise, what is alarming is the complete omission of Hardik Pandya from any sort of captaincy role. Instead, it is India’s captain in the Zimbabwe tour, Shubman Gill, who has been named vice-captain in both the ODIs and T20Is.

One can only speculate the real reason behind Hardik’s downfall on the captaincy pecking order. Is it Hardik’s disastrous Mumbai Indians stint? Or is it the fact that Hardik’s injury-prone nature means he may not always be a part of the squad? It could also be that Gambhir is firmly looking towards the future, aiming to prepare Gill as India’s next captain in all formats from now itself.

2. Shubman Gill’s Big Promotion

Gambhir seems to have his eyes set firmly on the 2027 World Cup, and it seems like Shubman Gill is his vote as the nation’s future captain in all formats. Gill has been named as the vice-captain in both the T20I and the ODI squads, ahead of Hardik Pandya no less. With Rohit being 37 and Suryakumar 33, Gambhir is looking to mould a future captain right from the start.

3. Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad left out of T20I squad

Despite Kuldeep’s starring role in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup victory – where he picked up 10 wickets in just five games – he has been left out of the T20I squad. The reason behind this could be to manage Kuldeep’s workload, as he still continues to feature in the ODI squad.

Gambhir has also worked in close quarters with Ravi Bishnoi in the past at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and may trust him as India’s lead spinner in T20Is.

Gaikwad has also been left out, despite a fine T20I series against Zimbabwe. He has been left out from both squads, with the likes of Riyan Parag favoured over him.

Abhishek Sharma scored a ton against Zimbabwe but he has also been dropped from the Sri Lanka tour, while off-colour Riyan Parag has been picked for both T20Is and ODIs.

4. Gambhir backs his KKR boys

KKR stars Shreyas Iyer, Harshit Rana (ODIs) and Rinku Singh (T20Is) are all part of Gambhir’s first India squad. Much like Suryakumar, Gambhir’s faith in Shreyas Iyer also does not come as a surprise, after he guided KKR to a third IPL title in 2024. Harshit Rana had an excellent campaign, and could be utilised as a handy lower-order batsman as well in the ODI format.

Here the India squads for Sri Lanka tour –

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj. 

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

India vs Zimbabwe Live Streaming 2nd T20I Live Telecast: When And Where To Watch Match Live© Instagram

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced three changes to India’s squad for the 5-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. The trio of Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana have been added to the roster for the first two matches, as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who are still in Barbados.

Originally slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series starting Saturday, 6th July, the trio will travel to India first with the rest of the ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad before departing for Harare. Samson, Dube and Jaiswal couldn’t fly out earlier from Barbados as a hurricane shut down the airport at the island nation.

India’s squad for 1st & 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe: Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana

The unforseen circumstances has forced BCCI to name replacements for the three players.

Pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batter Rinku Singh, travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup, are also currently in Barbados. The BCCI has not named replacements for the duo even though they are in the squad for Zimbabwe series.

Sudharsan is currently playing county cricket for Surrey at the Oval in London. He is expected to leave for Harare immediately.

Players Still Stuck In Barbados

India’s T20 World Cup-winning team is expected to fly from Barbados today, with the airport expected to be reopened. 

The World Cup winning team, originally scheduled to depart from Barbados on Monday at 11 AM local time (8:30 PM IST), have been stranded in Barbados for the past two days due to Hurricane Beryl, which resulted in airports and businesses shut down.

The hurricane, which has tensified into an extremely dangerous Category 4 in the past hours, has sparked warnings of life-threatening winds and dangerous storm.

According to latest report from the National Hurricane Centre of US, Beryl, a hurricane which was upgraded to a category four on Monday, has intensified to a category 5 storm after making landfall in the Windward Islands as it churned towards Jamaica.

The hurricane was upgraded to a category four on Monday, bringing life-threatening winds and storm lashed Barbados and nearby islands.

With Agency Inputs

Shah Rukh Khan and Team KKR blow flying kiss to celebrate their win© X (Twitter)