Hyderabad: Legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar expressed his regret for the absence of the star bowlers from the senior side in the ongoing 2024 Duleep Trophy 2024. With the India Bangladesh series around the corner as it will commence on September 19, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj missing the prestigious Duleep Trophy.
In his column for the Mid Day, Gavaskar felt that the unavailability of star bowlers in the Duleep Trophy made it hard to judge the true calibre of the batters playing in the tournament.
"This time, having rested all the India bowlers, it won’t be easy to see which batter is good as they would be playing basically second-string bowlers. So while the matches would be good tuning for the season to come, the selectors won’t get much insight into how good the batters really are," wrote Gavaskar in his column.
The 75-year-old also stated that all the Indian stars who regularly represent the Indian team at the highest level should also be available for at least some part of the Ranji and Duleep Trophy matches.
"If Indian cricket has to remain strong then it’s important that the domestic structure is strong too. That means scheduling the red-ball tournament in such a way that those playing for the country should also be available for at least some part of the Ranji and Duleep Trophy matches. Otherwise, it will only be a false dawn as far as talent is concerned," he added.
Despite the star bowlers' absence from the tournament, several Team India players participated in the opening two rounds of the Duleep Trophy. However, majthe ority of them failed to make an impact with the bat.
The final round will run parallel to the India vs Bangladesh first Test, and might see more team India players absent.
