Having kicked off his Indian Test captaincy on a successful note, star batter Shubman Gill, along with a bunch of other national players, is set to feature in the upcoming Duleep Trophy slated to begin later this month. The move follows India’s successful tour of England, where the Indian team, on the back of stunning performances, managed to square the five-match Test series 2-2. They completed a nervy six-run win in the final Test at The Oval to bring the series to a draw.
Gill, who was appointed India’s Test skipper ahead of the England series, succeeding Rohit Sharma following his retirement from Test cricket, ended the series as the highest run-scorer. Meanwhile, BCCI has reportedly made it mandatory for national players to take part in the domestic cricket whenever there is no international commitment. Now, with Gill participating in the Duleep Trophy, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has lauded BCCI’s move. Gavaskar also praised Gill, saying it sends the right message to his teammates.
"It was good, therefore, to see that after the tour to Bangladesh was postponed to next year, the BCCI resisted the pressure to send a team for a white-ball series to Sri Lanka this month. By doing that, the BCCI has prioritised domestic cricket, as it means that now most, if not all, of the top players will be available to play in the Duleep Trophy tournament starting shortly," Gavaskar wrote in a column for Sportstar.
"Shubman Gill captaining the North Zone team is a massive shot in the arm for this tournament. By being available for the tournament, the Indian skipper is sending the right signal to the other members of the team. It would have been understandable if, after a gruelling tour where five Test matches were crammed into a little over six weeks, he had opted to rest. The fast bowlers not playing is good thinking, as it has been an unusually hot summer in England, thanks to global warming, and their energies must have been expended after the untiring spells they bowled throughout the series."
Gill is set to lead North Zone, and they will open their campaign in a play-off against East Zone on August 28 in Bengaluru.