BCCI Tells State Teams to Include Top Players in Duleep Trophy

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has written to state associations to include centrally contracted players in the Duleep Trophy after the South Zone left the star players like Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the BCCI has emailed some cricket associations regarding the non-selection of centrally contracted cricketers. The South Zone did not include the likes of Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna and Sai Sudharsan. BCCI’s general manager, Abey Kuruvilla, asked the state associations to pick strong squads.

According to the report by The Indian Express, Abey Kuruvilla wrote the things in a email. ““To uphold its prestige and ensure the highest quality of competition, it’s imperative that all currently available India players are selected for their respective zonal teams. Requesting the Zonal Convenors to ensure that all the current India players who are available to play Duleep trophy should be picked,” 

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According to the report, some state associations feel Indian players should play and be more involved in the Board President’s XI matches and India A, rather than the Duleep or Deodhar Trophy.

In 2024, the BCCI announced that centrally contracted players must participate in the domestic tournaments. However, if they are busy with the international matches, then it’s not necessary. Due to this rule, the big names like: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer were already involved in the squad.

“Participation in domestic matches: All players, contracted or otherwise, who make themselves available for selection into Team India, shall participate in domestic matches conducted by BCCI. In case any player opts not to participate in any domestic cricket tournaments in spite of availability, he/she shall not be considered for selection unless a prior recommendation is obtained to skip the match/tournament from the National coach and the chairman of selection committee, and prior approval from the BCCI. In case any leave is granted, the same shall be considered on the basis of some valid and cogent reason.”