In a major setback for the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2024-25, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that key players Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Umran Malik will miss the opening round of the tournament due to various reasons.

Replacements of Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik

Siraj and Malik have been ruled out due to illness, with the BCCI expecting them to be fit for the remaining fixtures of the Duleep Trophy. Navdeep Saini and Gaurav Yadav have been named as replacements for Siraj and Malik respectively.

Jadeja, on the other hand, has been released from the India B squad for the first round. The BCCI has not provided any specific reason for Jadeja’s exclusion and has not named a replacement for the all-rounder.

The Duleep Trophy, which marks the beginning of India’s domestic red-ball season, will feature four teams – India A, India B, India C and India D. The tournament is expected to play a crucial role in the BCCI’s selection process for India’s upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.

Saini, who has played two Tests for India, has been handed another opportunity with his inclusion in the India B squad. Gaurav, a fast bowler from Puducherry, has also been named in the India C squad after an impressive Ranji Trophy season.

The Duleep Trophy will predominantly be played at the Anantapur Cricket Ground complex in Andhra Pradesh, with one match scheduled at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The absence of Siraj, Jadeja and Malik will undoubtedly be a significant blow for their respective teams. However, the BCCI will be hoping for their speedy recovery and participation in the later stages of the tournament.

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Revised squads for Duleep Trophy 2024-25

India A: Shubman Gill (c), Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KL Rahul, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Vidwath Kaverappa, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat

India B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk)

India C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Baba Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (wk), Sandeep Warrier

India D: Shreyas lyer (c), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (wk), Saurabh Kumar

*subject to fitness

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