Baba Indrajith. (Photo Source: X/Twitter)
The 2024 edition of the Duleep Trophy is set to start from September 5. With the format drifting away from the long-standing four-team zonal arrangement, the impending edition is expected to generate significant interest amid supporters. It will be riveting to see how the uncapped players perform alongside the seasoned campaigners, with a specifically curated list of a player from each of the participants listed below.
Here are uncapped players to watch out for in Duleep Trophy 2024:
Team A – Tanush Kotian
The six-feet tall bowling all-rounder from Mumbai merits close observation. A more-than-handy white-ball player, Kotian’s chief expertise lies in his ability to turn the ball at pace while being equally lethal with his line and length. The 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season witnessed a pleasant refinement of his batting skills, which helped Mumbai get those crucial runs in quite some matches courtesy of valuable lower-order partnerships.
In fact, Kotian had a tally of 502 runs, a significant number given the fact that his usual batting position is number 10. The accolades he achieved in the season also earned him a contract with the Rajasthan Royals in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League.
Team B – Abhimanyu Easwaran
The elegant top-order batter from Bengal has been in and around the domestic circuit for more than a decade now. Having played nearly as many List A games, Easwaran is one of the rare openers with a better average in first-class cricket as compared List A cricket (47.65 vs 47.49). With 7,000-plus runs in the first-class arena, the Dehradun-born Easwaran has established himself as a reliable candidate for Bengal season upon season.
His exploits in the first-half of the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy prompted the selectors name him in the Indian team to replace the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad during the series against South Africa in December-January. However, it was not to be as all he could not earn his debut cap in the series. Nonetheless, he continued his dominance with the bat in the Ranji Trophy thereafter.
Also Read: Who is Abhimanyu Easwaran? Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement for South Africa Tests
Team C – Baba Indrajith
From missing out on the U19 World Cup in Australia in 2012 to being one of the mainstays of the Tamil Nadu, Baba Indrajith has come a long way. Ever since Subramaniam Badrinath decided to move from Tamil Nadu to Vidarbha in 2014 and then Hyderabad in 2016, Indrajith formed the foundation of the batting order of his state.
In fact, he has developed his game against spin in such a grand fashion that R Ashwin has branded him as one of the most graceful players of spin. An added advantage with Indrajith is that he can occasionally keep wickets and also bowl some handy leg-spin whenever the situation demands, making him a truly three-dimensional player.
Also Check: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023: Baba Indrajith bats with taped mouth after freak injury
Team D – Ricky Bhui
Ricky Bhui grabbed many eyeballs after he wreaked havoc with 902 runs in 13 innings to finish as the leading run-scorer of the most-recent edition of the Ranji Trophy, finishing just three shy of a ton of boundaries in the entire campaign. With 18 half-centuries and as many centuries under his belt, Bhui has been consistent in his run-scoring for Andhra Pradesh for a long time now.
A young Bhui once harboured the dream of playing the Indian Premier League. “I am looking forward to learning the tricks of the trade from some of the biggest names in the game. The thought of being around them in itself is exciting,” Bhui had told ESPNcricinfo in 2014.
A decade later, a much more evolved Bhui has the perfect opportunity of collaborating with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav and both in terms of performing on the field as well as assembling a treasure trove of knowledge from the heavyweights of Indian cricket.
