New Delhi, India

The Indian men’s selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar made big changes to the Duleep Trophy squads on Tuesday (Sep 10) as players bound for the Indian team’s Bangladesh series were released. The biggest change sees Rinku Singh being roped in as a replacement for Rishabh Pant, who is set to feature for India in the red-ball format for the first time since his near-fatal car accident in December 2022. Mayank Agarwal, in the meantime, has been handed the India A team’s captaincy after Shubman Gill left the camp.

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Rinku Singh roped in for Rishabh Pant

With the Indian team set to face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, the 16-man squad will start its preparations in Chennai from Thursday (Sep 12). While Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah will join directly from their holidays, the rest of the team, excluding Sarfaraz Khan, will join from the Duleep Trophy squad. Sarfaraz is unlikely to play in the opening Test against Bangladesh, starting September 19, so he will continue to play in the Duleep Trophy, provided no last-minute changes or injuries occur.

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For Rinku, it will be a change in guard having played in the Uttar Pradesh Premier League (UPPL) for Meerut. Rinku will have an opportunity to impress the selectors, having already cemented his position in the T20I set-up. The selection panel led by Agarkar has already hinted that players performing in the Duleep Trophy will be considered for the India A tour of Australia that starts in early November.

With Yashasvi Jaiswal and Pant having been called to the national team, Suyash Prabhudessai and Rinku Singh have been named as their replacements in the India B squad. Yash Dayal has received his first national team call-up, while Sarfaraz Khan will play in the second-round match before joining the national team.