10 players to watch out for in the Duleep Trophy 2023

Duleep Trophy 2023 will begin on 28th June with the first match between Central Zone and East Zone.

The Duleep Trophy 2023 will be the sixtieth edition of the tournament which will take place from 28 June to 16 July 2023. Duleep Trophy 2023 will be played across six zones, forming part of the 2023 Indian domestic cricket season.

The Duleep Trophy was reintroduced after a three-season gap last year with the West Zone emerging as champions after beating South Zone in the final held in Coimbatore.

West Zone are the defending champions of the Duleep Trophy and the squads for all the zones were revealed a few days ago.

The winners of Central Zone vs East Zone and North-East Zone vs North Zone will play West Zone and South Zone - last year's finalists - respectively in the semi-finals from July 5. The final will be held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on July 12.

Many of the youngsters will get a chance to impress the national selectors with the upcoming international series.

Here are five such players who will be on the radar and who should be watched closely:

Tilak Varma

Hyderabad’s Tilak Varma will be part of the South Zone team, which will be captained by Hanuma Vihari. Thus far, Varma has played 7 FC matches and scored 409 runs with one century and 2 fifties to his name with the best score of 121.

His white-ball record is excellent with 1236 runs in 25 List-A matches with five centuries and the best score of 156* and 1418 runs in 47 T20 matches.

But with the Indian team in the hunt for new middle-order batters with the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and others only having very little fuel in the tank left, someone like Tilak Varma can grab this chance with both hands and put up his candidature.

Rinku Singh

The star of the IPL 2023, Rinku Singh is expected to be on the flight for West Indies for the T20I matches, but before that, he will have a chance to shine in red-ball format for the Central Zone, as he has been named in the squad for the Duleep Trophy.

Surprisingly, despite making his name in T20 cricket, Rinku Singh has a mighty impressive record in First-Class cricket as well. In 40 matches, he averages 59.89 and has scored 2875 runs for Uttar Pradesh. He has hit 7 centuries as well with his highest score being 163*.

With the landscape of Test cricket changing and the Indian team requiring someone who can score quickly, Rinku Singh performing outstandingly in the Duleep Trophy will be a huge win in his favor as he looks to make his way into the Indian team.   

Saurabh Kumar

Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar has been on the fringes of the Indian team having been part of the Indian Test squad for the Sri Lanka series in 2022 and before that being one of the five net bowlers when England visited India in 2021 for Tests.

In his 60-match First Class cricket career, Saurabh has 248 wickets with a best of 7/32 at an average of 25.22.

He has also been part of the India A squad in recent times and given that R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, despite being the top two spinners in the world, might need rest here and there and Saurabh Kumar’s performances in the Duleep Trophy might entice the BCCI selectors to bring him in and give him a chance to shine.

Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh Kumar’s name has been one of the hottest ones for the last year or so. And he impressed one and all with his performances for India A and even for Delhi Capitals recently in the IPL 2023. Kumar has been part of the Indian squad for some time now, without getting a game.

But in the aftermath of the WTC 2023 final, where backup bowlers Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav failed to step up after Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj had rattled the Australia batters, the selectors are looking at other options.

If Mukesh Kumar impresses with the red ball in Duleep Trophy, he might finally get the chance to wear the India cap soon.

Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar will be eager to gain his place back in the Indian team as he will be making a return to domestic cricket in Duleep Trophy as he was named in the South Zone squad. He is currently playing in the Tamil Nadu Cricket League (TNPL 2023).

He had suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL 2023 where he was playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has done well in 4 Tests he has played for India, making 265 runs with a best of 96* and picking 6 wickets with a best of 3/89.

However, his career has been hit with a blast of injuries leading to his place in the Indian squad being usurped by Axar Patel, who himself has been brilliant.

Washington will have an opportunity to prove his long-format chops, particularly with the ball, with the selectors keen to ready back-ups for the Test squad, outside of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal was recently included in the Indian Tests squad for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final as a backup batter and this shows that the BCCI selectors have locked in on him as a potential replacement in the top three of the Indian batting lineup.

This is especially after the failure of Cheteshwar Pujara to come good in the final, despite playing quite some cricket for Sussex in the English county championship prior to the ICC event.

Jaiswal had an excellent IPL 2023, with 625 runs to his name and a century and the fastest-ever IPL fifty as well. He has scored double centuries in Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy and will be one to look out for in the West Zone team in Duleep Trophy as well.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad had to miss the WTC 2023 final for his marriage and he also knew, he would not be making it into the Indian XI. Now he is currently lighting up the Maharashtra Premier League at the moment playing for Puneri Bappa.

In one ODI and 9 T20Is for India, Ruturaj has shown a glimpse of his class, and in IPL 2023, he made 590 runs in 17 matches as CSK won the IPL title for the fifth time. He, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal are reportedly locked in for the upcoming West Indies tour. 

Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw had a horrendous IPL 2023 for Delhi Capitals scoring only one half-century to his name. He had a very good white-ball series for Mumbai last year, which got him his comeback into the Indian team for the New Zealand series at home earlier this year.

But since then, off-the-field controversy and poor on-the-field showing with the bat have cast doubts over Shaw’s ability to focus on the game and though he has made the cut for the West Zone team in the Duleep Trophy, he would have to score some big runs like he did in the Ranji Trophy last season to get back in the good books of the BCCI selectors.

Rajkumar Rex Singh

Though North-East Zone still is overlooked by the selectors when it comes to representation in the Indian team, this might change as Rajkumar Rex Singh of Manipur, who has been named in the NE squad for the Duleep Trophy has been impressive for his side in domestic cricket.

The left-arm pacer has played 21 First Class matches, picking 64 wickets with a best of 8/22. He has also picked 28 wickets in 21 List-A matches and 11 wickets in 19 T20 matches. He is handy with the bat as well, with 3 half-centuries to his name in 21 FC matches.

Abhimanyu Easwaran

Bengal veteran Abhimanyu Easwaran has been one of the few players who have been a regular of the India A side and has captained the hopefuls as well. The right-handed opener has played 87 FC matches, scoring 6556 runs with 22 centuries and the best score of 233 at an average of 47.85.

He has come close to tasting India team success as well as in January 2021, he was named as one of five standby players in India's Test squad for their home series against England and then was one of four standby players in India's Test squad for the WTC 2021 final and subsequent England series.