South Zone have strengthened their Duleep Trophy final squad by adding India internationals KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj. BCCI source has confirmed the development to PTI, stating that the players are free for almost a month and since they are now available to play domestic cricket, will feature in the summit clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
“Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj do not have any competitive cricket right now. The national selectors want any India player who is available should play the Duleep Trophy final. The trio played last on August 27. The next match they will play is on September 27 against West Indies in the ODIs,” the source told PTI.
“Now Padikkal is not a part of ODIs so he might play India A series. But Duleep final if there is a chance, they should play,” the source added.
No decision on Tilak Varma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
South Zone captain Tilak Varma led by example in the semi-final against North. He scored a century in the first innings and followed by unbeaten 51 in the second, as South registered a comfortable seven-wicket win. After the game, Tilak expressed a desire to feature in the final as well, but it’s not yet confirmed as the 23-year-old has been named in the 15-member squad for the series against Afghanistan.
He left the decision to the team management and the selectors. The BCCI source also confirmed that no decision has been made. Like Tilak, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan are also part of the T20I side and they will only play the domestic final if the head coach approves the move.
“The Indian team will assemble in Delhi on either September 9 or 10. If the head coach wants all three to report as per T20I team's itinerary, then the trio can't play, but if the head coach wants them to play the final and report to Delhi on September 10 late evening, they can also do that," the source added.
Notably, the final between South Zone and East Zone is slated to begin on September 6. The series against Afghanistan, on the other hand, will kickoff on September 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
With inputs from PTI
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