The 2024-25 Indian domestic cricket season is scheduled to begin with the Dulip Trophy, which begins on Thursday, September 5.
The tournament will be played in a new format, with the regional system being replaced by India A, B, C and D, and will be contested in a round-robin format with no knockout matches.
India B team, led by opening batsman Abhimanyu Iswaran, will play their first match against India A team, led by Shubman Gill, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Also read | India A predicted XI vs India B; Full squad, Player list for Shubman Gill’s team
The team will be without the services of Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj and veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was released from the team. Navdeep Saini has replaced Siraj in the team, but Jadeja’s replacement has not been announced.
Easwaran is likely to open alongside rising Indian star Yashasvi Jaiswal, who broke records in the Test series against England this year. The match also marks the return of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant to red-ball cricket.
Sarfaraz Khan and his brother Mushir will form the middle order for India’s B team, much like what the duo has been doing on the domestic circuit in Mumbai.
While India B’s pace stocks are not as strong as India A’s, their strong spinner line-up of Washington Sundar, R. Sai Kishore and Rahul Chahar will be quite difficult.
India B expected 11 vs India A
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, R. Sai Kishore, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini.
India B Full Squad
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant(L), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R. Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N. Jagadeesan Co., Ltd.
