Sarfaraz Khan To Play Duleep Trophy Despite Bangladesh Test Selection. What This Means

As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Duleep Trophy squads for the second round, the majority of the players picked in the India squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, including Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, were withdrawn. The likes of Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel, who all have been exempted from the second round, as well, but the scenario is a little different for Sarfaraz Khan and Yash Dayal, both of whom were also named for the Test series opener. 

Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal and Sarfaraz Khan, who too are part of India's 16-man squad for the opening Test, have not been released from their Duleep Trophy duties indicating they won't be part of the playing eleven against Bangladesh in the game to be played in Chennai.

The BCCI, in a release ahead of the second round of Duleep Trophy matches, said: "India B's Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant have been named in India's squad and the selectors have named Suyash Prabhudessai and Rinku Singh as replacements respectively. Fast bowler Yash Dayal has received his maiden national call-up while Sarfaraz Khan, who too has been named in India's squad, will feature in the second-round game."

Sarfaraz's selection for the Duleep Trophy game means KL Rahul is likely to be named in India's XI. The two were seen as direct competitors for a spot in the middle-order. 

No changes have been made to the India C squad led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Pant, returning to red-ball cricket for the first time since December 2022, gave a good account himself in the Duleep Trophy opener and so did K L Rahaul and Akash Deep.

Updated India A squad: Mayank Agarwal (C), Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian,