India A recently toured South Africa and also played against the England Lions. Duleep Trophy 2024 squads were announced recently. Big names such as KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are also a part of the event. Considering India A tournaments did not happen long ago, you would expect all those players to be a part of the Duleep Trophy. However, even some popular names have not been considered. Here, we take a look at the list of two popular India A players who were not selected for the Duleep Trophy 2024.
1) Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur was surprisingly not selected for the Duleep Trophy. It is not sure if it is an injury issue or not. Because Shardul was India’s preferred No.8 for overseas Tests. He was also a part of the South Africa Tour. And, India’s next big Test overseas is in Australia, a country where Shardul has done well with the bat, at least.
It will be interesting to see how Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar will construct the squads for the BGT. The likes of Harshit Rana, who also offers some batting depth, could be in the fray. There could also be a left-arm pacer in the mix.
2) Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh is one of the popular India A players who were not selected for the Duleep Trophy 2024. Back in South Africa, Rinku was asked to stay back with the Test Team after the white-ball series finished. He is a very good FC player and it is always a good option to have a left-handed middle-order batter in Tests.
Considering these factors, Rinku was expected to be in the Duleep Trophy squads. However, he has not been selected. Therefore, it is clear that the management is looking at him as only a white-ball option. That said, it is worthy trying him in Tests.
