5 Duleep Trophy Players who can make the cut for New Zealand series

The 2016/17 edition of the Duleep Trophy has been a groundbreaking one in more ways than one. With the new stadium, the new format, the new teams, and the pink ball, the Duleep Trophy has been a fascinating one thus far. However, with more young talents making its way into the premier tournament, it is clear that some of these blokes will certainly make a case for Team India selection in the long Test season ahead. Although it remains to be seen whether a new player gets picked or not, we take a look at five players who can certainly go on to make a case for themselves in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. 1. Mayank Agarwal: Mayank Agarwal. (Photo Source: Twitter) 24-year old Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal’s career in domestic cricket has been on the rise. Apart from being a prominent part of the young-looking Delhi Daredevils unit, Agarwal has more accolades in domestic competitions than that. He has been a part of the Ranji Trophy side that has gone on to clinch victories in their previous two seasons. Although Mayank does not boast of much in the Test match side of things, it is clear that he is certainly one for the future in terms of opening the batting for the Indian side. KL Rahul, a player who traverses a similar story to Agarwal is evidence of the same fact. That said, Mayank’s performances in the Duleep Trophy thus far have been simply phenomenal. He is the highest run-getter at the moment with 2 half-centuries and a ton. His latest inning was the massive 161-run knock against India Green. 2. Nathu Singh: ‘India Red’ cricketer Nathu Singh (TOP) delivers a pink ball to ‘India Green’ batsman Parthiv Patel. (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images) As MS Dhoni mentioned prior to the start of the tour of the United States, the Indian pace bowling unit is most certainly in good shape at the moment. Nathu Singh, a player with a touching story is the newest pace bowler in the production line of Indian pace bowlers. In spite of not being given much of a chance with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, it is clear that he is most certainly the future of Indian cricket. With many pacers getting a lot of purchase with the swing of the pink ball, Nathu Singh is certainly getting the ball to do the talking. Evidence of the same can be found in the fact that he picked 6/53 in the first match against India Green. Having been on the radar of the selectors for some time now, Nathu has been overlooked ahead of the likes of Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Whether he gets picked for the New Zealand series, however, remains to be seen. 3. Kuldeep Yadav: Kuldeep Yadav. (Photo Source: Twitter) While the pacers have been getting a lot of purchase from the pink ball of late, only one spinner has been successful thus far. Kuldeep Yadav, the youngster who has travelled with the India ‘A’ squad has gotten better since his outing with the List ‘A’ side and has now become the highest wicket-taker thus far in the tournament. In recent times, with the Indians looking to spice things up as far as team selections are concerned, it seems clear that Kuldeep Yadav is one who will play for the Indian team at some point in his career. With the pink ball doing the rounds so far that may not be such a bad idea as far as Kuldeep is concerned. Moreover, with the New Zealand tour looming over the horizon, Kuldeep Yadav may well find himself on the selection radar once again. 4. Abhinav Mukund: Abhinav Mukund. (Photo Source: Twitter) Ever since making his debut as a 22-year old in England, Abhinav Mukund has found himself back in the enormous labyrinth of the Indian domestic circuit. However, with some impressive performances in recent times with the bat, Mukund may well find himself back on the selection radar. In the first match of the Duleep Trophy, Mukund was the only player to smash half-centuries in each innings as the rest of the batsmen fell like nine pins. However, Mukund was able to negotiate the pink ball successfully. He followed this up with an impressive showing in the following match with a score of 169. With the New Zealand tour beckoning, Abhinav Mukund may well be the ideal person to take a spot on the Indian side which seems to be lacking a solid opener of late. Should he impress once more, it is clear that he will be a candidate for selection soon. 5. Gautam Gambhir: (Photo Source: Twitter) Although it is true that the selection committee is looking for a young player, they are more than capable of selecting Gautam Gambhir to the squad. The current selection committee has a reputation of selecting the likes of Ashish Nehra for the World T20 earlier this year. Although Gambhir has been frozen out of the Indian squad for some time now, it is clear that he has taken it on the chin and has started to perform much better in the domestic circuit. His recent exploits as the skipper of India Blue has seen him become an important piece of the selection process. That said, it remains to be seen whether Gambhir is indeed inducted back into the Indian squad courtesy of his performances in the ongoing Duleep Trophy.

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5 Duleep Trophy Players who can make the cut for New Zealand series

4. Abhinav Mukund:

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