Duleep Trophy: Shreyas Iyer’s shot at red-ball redemption begins as India D takes on India C in opener

Shreyas, who last played a Test for India in February, was reprimanded for not representing Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal last season and omitted from the BCCI central contract list.

FILE PHOTO: Shreyas Iyer is still some distance away from being exonerated by the selectors. | Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M/ The Hindu

Shreyas Iyer’s shot at redeeming himself in red-ball cricket will begin Thursday when he leads India D against Ruturaj Gaikwad’s India C in the first round of the Duleep Trophy at the Rural Trust Development Stadium in Anantapur.

The 29-year-old, who last played a Test for India in February, was reprimanded for not representing Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal last season and omitted from the BCCI central contract list. He subsequently returned for the semifinal and final but is still some distance away from being exonerated by the selectors.

Ishan Kishan was supposed to accompany Shreyas in the journey, but an injury suffered during the Buchi Babu tournament has reportedly ruled him out, at least for the opening round.

Suryakumar Yadav’s hand injury, also suffered during the Buchi Babu tournament, meant India C was also not spared from the long injury list, which somehow seems to include players who have represented India. Prasidh Krishna of India A, Mohammad Siraj of India B, and Umran Malik of India C are the other players ruled out due to injury or illness. Ravindra Jadeja was part of India B but was released from the squad for unknown reasons.

In Suryakumar’s absence, Ruturaj would need all the help he can get from the Tamil Nadu duo of Baba Indrajith and Sai Sudharsan. The latter heads into the competition with the notable addition of a County Championship hundred on his resume.

Rajat Patidar’s unconvincing maiden international assignment against England, where he scored just 63 runs in six innings, gave no inkling of his First-Class exploits, where he averages nearly 44. His meek display also exposed his discomfort against the tweakers. Against left-arm orthodox spin, in particular, he scored just 11 runs in 40 deliveries and was dismissed twice. His 27.5 strike rate against orthodox spin was the lowest amongst all types of bowlers he faced. This could make Axar Patel an effective option against the Madhya Pradesh batter.

Axar’s all-round abilities will also go a long way in reinforcing India D’s batting too, which appears to run thin in Kishan’s absence. Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Dubey, and Atharva Taide are likely to form the top order, with Shreyas and one of K.S. Bharat or Ricky Bhui anchoring the middle order.

What it lacks with the willow, Shreyas & Co. can make up with the ball. In the 16 First-Class games played at the venue, pacers have accounted for 361 batters. Spinners, on the other hand, have just 112 wickets. If the pitch plays the same, in Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, and Harshit Rana, India D has a pace trio that can extract the most out of it. However, there is a caveat that the venue has hosted just one match in the last 11 years.

India C’s pace battery is more experienced. Between them, Gaurav Yadav, the second-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy last season, and Sandeep Warrier have 112 First-Class games. Vyshak Vijayakumar, who has played 20 First-Class matches, is the likeliest third-seam option. Mayank Markande and Manav Suthar are likely to be the first-choice spinners for the side.

India D’s combination of Arshdeep, Deshpande, and Harshit, meanwhile, has a combined 59 First-Class games to its credit.

SQUADS

India C - Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, B. 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.