Duleep Trophy: Rishabh Pant in focus on red-ball return; selectors eye backup options

Rishabh Pant's red-ball return and the search for backup options will be closely watched in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.

Rishabh Pant’s red-ball return will be closely monitored and the national selectors will also trace suitable backup options to frontline stars when the Duleep Trophy, which preludes an important Test season, begins across Bengaluru and Anantapur on Thursday, September 5, 2024.

Pant, who returned to white-ball formats after that horrific car crash, is yet to play in a longer-duration match. His last red-ball outing was against Bangladesh in December 2022.

Now, he will turn out for Abhimanyu Easwaran-led Team B against Shubman Gill-captained Team A at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Satisfying his outings in the shorter versions were, but this four-day tournament offers him a unique challenge – batting and ‘keeping for an undefined number of overs.

Pant is the designated stumper in Team B, and it is evident that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel intends to take a deep look into his role as the wicketkeeper-batter in a season that will culminate with the World Test Championship Final at the Lord’s next June.

But that is just one piece of the puzzle as other worthy contenders are there for the wicketkeeper-batter’s slot.

The front-runner is Dhruv Jurel (Team A), who was impressive in his debut series against England earlier this year.