Duleep Trophy 2024, 1st round – Ishan Kishan likely to be sidelined, Prasidh Krishna not ready yet

Kishan, who was named in the Shreyas Iyer-led India D, is believed to have complained of a hamstring niggle following his two outings for Jharkhand, his first set of multi-day games in over a year, at the pre-season Buchi Babu Invitational in Tamil Nadu earlier this month.

No cover has been named as yet and KS Bharat is the only other wicketkeeper in the India D squad. They will open their tournament against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India C, on September 5, in Anantapur.

Kishan had not joined the squad yet on match-eve. A decision on whether to replace him is likely to be taken depending on the severity of Kishan’s injury.

Prasidh last played for India on the tour of South Africa in December-January, and he is believed to be nearing full match fitness. It’s likely he could yet play a part during the later rounds of the Duleep Trophy in the lead-up to the Ranji Trophy.

The first round of the Duleep Trophy will be played in Anantapur and Bengaluru from September 5. It’s the only game where some of the top India Test players – including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav – will feature before they disperse to get ready for India’s Test season that begins against Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19.

The Indian team is likely to assemble in Chennai on September 12 for a short preparatory camp in the lead-up to the series.