All state units have received a letter from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcing the appointment of the zonal selection committees which will be responsible for choosing the teams competing for the Duleep Trophy.
In accordance with the BCCI’s new constitution, instead of the national selectors, zonal committees now choose the teams for each region. The Indian board has decided that Duleep Trophy will be organised this year from 8 to 25 September. State associations will be divided into zones, and the competition would be played in a knockout format, following a BCCI circular.
The BCCI has further instructed by Abey Kuruvilla, Game Development Manager of the BCCI, that all respective zones will need to appoint a Zonal Selection Committee including one selector from each state. The task of this zonal committee will be to select a 15-man squad for the tournament.
A Zonal Convener will also required to monitor all the proceedings and report to the BCCI accordingly and will also work on selecting the support staff — which will likely include a manager, coach, masseuse, physiotherapist, trainer, and performance analyser.
The BCCI has further noted that the zonal conveners are requested to hold their separate selection committee meetings and submit the team, including players and support staff, by Friday, 26 August or earlier.
This year, Duleep Trophy will be hosted by Tamil Nadu with a few new venues in Coimbatore, Salem and Chennai.
Reportedly, Ajinkya Rahane is all set to return to cricketing action after a long four-month gap and will lead the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy, with the squad likely to be confirmed in Mumbai on Friday.
The right-handed batter suffered a hamstring injury while representing Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL earlier this year, during their final game of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 14 May.
After undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, he made a comeback to the nets a few weeks earlier and is expected to be declared match-fit before the tournament.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram