According to former India cricketer Suresh Raina, there was no reason why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have been stars in their own right, did not play in the forthcoming Duleep Trophy. It’s worth mentioning that reports indicated Sharma and Kohli would be part of the Duleep Trophy so that they could get ready for the busy Test schedule that lies ahead.
But the board hasn’t announced any names from its four squads for the red-ball tournament including these two batting greats. Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar, also ex-cricketers who commented on their exclusion said that they could have benefited from participating in this red-ball competition ahead of their upcoming series against Bangladesh.
Now, exactly what Raina has echoed too that said the team has not played any red-ball cricket since IPL ended.
“Indeed they should have played, see we have not played red-ball cricket from when the IPL became over. For since we are approaching a major Test series, one needs to play four day cricket even though it is prudent to know how day-four wicket behaves up. When they gather for four or five days and begin practicing, I think they are sufficiently grown-up. At times, family time is equally important,” Raina informed Sports Tak.
In addition, Raina provided information about the circumstances under which the second Test of series will take place in Kanpur. He emphasized that Bangladesh shouldn’t be treated lightly in light of their recent performance against Pakistan.
“However, when they arrive at Kanpur, the ground will be a solid one in October where dew plays a major role leading to no spin on pitch. Cold mornings are also common here because of its proximity to river Ganga while weather will always remain cloudy meaning that they need to prepare for these climatic conditions but the Indian team is strong enough. Yet we cannot ignore Bangladesh completely since lately they had an awesome time with beating Pakistan at the first Test match held at Rawalpindi. Let’s hope for some exciting cricket matches,” he further added.
This year, the Indians will host Bangladesh in a two-match series starting from 19 September 2024. The opening Test match will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai while, the second Test match will be hosted by Green Park, Kanpur from September 27. The squad announcement is likely to happen within days. Furthermore, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan for the first time ever in their history of Test matches and won their first ever match by ten wickets. They are now in search of another victory against their neighbors and record a historic success against them playing in India with all sails set right on the wind.
