Non-availability of players leaves skipper Suresh Raina clueless ahead of Duleep Trophy game

The opening game of the Duleep Trophy between India Red and India Green marked the inception of the domestic season in India. The India Red team registered a convincing 170-run victory over the Green team. The second game of the tournament would be played between India Blue and India Red, starting later in the day. The Duleep Trophy has already added a number of players in the injury list. As a result, India Blue skipper Suresh Raina was completely clueless on the availability of some players ahead of their first game in the tournament.

The injury list going into the second match of the Duleep Trophy keeps getting bigger with every passing day. First, India Red’s first-choice skipper Abhinav Mukund was ruled out of the first game due to dengue fever and then all-rounder K Gowtham was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Earlier, it was announced that the Indian speedster Ishant Sharma has also been ruled out of the Duleep Trophy 2017. Ishant, who was initially named in the India Blue squad, was later replaced by Chattisgarh pacer Pankaj Rao.

Raina left clueless

Raina was a little concerned and worried over the availability of some players ahead of their first game at Green Park, later in the day. It is an important game for the left-hander as he aims to regain his place in the national team. “There are a few injuries and some players are on the way. Later in the evening we will have a team meeting after the practice session and things will become clear by then,” said Raina, as quoted by Mid-day.com.

Some injured and some are busy

India Red stand-in skipper Dinesh Karthik also expressed his views on the non-availability of the players in the domestic tournament. “Some players are injured while some others will be busy with ‘A’ matches. These vacancies open up opportunities for upcoming players and it will benefit them a great deal as they will get a big platform at a very early stage in their career. A tournament like this should be seen in that light,” Karthik said.