South Zone selectors have denied the BCCI's request to include southern stars KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Mohammed Siraj, and Washington Sundar in their Duleep Trophy squad, as they prioritize giving chances to top-performing domestic players rather than centrally contracted ones.
BCCI Flags South Zone for Omitting Contracted Players Despite Mandate
The board has written an email to all associations regarding the exclusion of centrally contracted players from zonal squads. This message was primarily aimed at the South Zone committee, which failed to include any of the above-mentioned names, going against the BCCI's directive.
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Last year, the BCCI introduced a mandate requiring centrally contracted players to participate in domestic competitions whenever available. However, since the zonal selectors had already announced their squads without the five Test players, the BCCI wasn’t pleased and responded with an official email.
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South Zone Defends Decision: Prioritising Kerala’s Ranji Finalists Over India Stars
In response to the criticism, South Zone officials argued that only the best domestic performers deserve a place in the Duleep Trophy. With players' future careers in mind, South Zone stood firm on their stance:
“Kerala qualified for the Ranji Trophy final (for the first time ever in the competition’s 90-year history) and lost narrowly. They had a remarkable season, and their players deserved selection for the Duleep Trophy. If the India players are brought into the squad, most Kerala players won’t find a place in the zonal side,” a South Zone official told Cricbuzz.
Additionally, the selection committee suggested that the BCCI should consider involving available centrally contracted players in India A matches rather than forcing them into domestic competitions.
South Zone squad for Duleep Trophy
Tilak Varma (c), Mohammed Azharuddeen (vc & wk), Tanmay Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohit Kale, Salman Nizar, N Jagadeesan (wk), T Vijay, R Sai Kishore, Tanay Thyagarajan, Vyshak Vijaykumar, MD Nidheesh, Ricky Bhui, Basil NP, Gurjapneet Singh, Snehal Kauthankar
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