South Zone captain Tilak Varma on Saturday announced that KL Rahul won’t feature in the playing XI for the upcoming Duleep Trophy final against the East Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, beginning Sunday. The left-handed batter, who is a part of India’s squad for the three-match T20Is against Afghanistan, also confirmed that Mohammed Siraj and Devdutt Padikkal have been added to the lineup for the high-profile encounter against the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Shami.
Earlier, the news agency PTI reported that Rahul, Padikkal, and Siraj were asked by the selection committee to play in the Duleep Trophy final. However, Tilak confirmed on Saturday that Rahul isn’t with the squad in Chennai.
“KL bhai isn’t there,” Tilak told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
Kishan, Sooryavanshi and Tilak will now join the Indian team camp after completing the Duleep Trophy duties. The trio will join the squad in New Delhi ahead of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, beginning September 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Earlier, it was reported that the participation of Tilak, Ishan and Sooryavanshi in the red-ball competition depended on the nod of head coach Gautam Gambhir, and it seems the decision-makers want the players to represent their teams in the summit clash.
Padikkal will strengthen the team
The left-hander Padikkal was recently named as the Player of the Series in Sri Lanka after scoring centuries in both Tests in Galle and Colombo. Tilak, the South Zone captain, added that the Karnataka batter would make the South Zone team stronger.
“His coming into the side will really strengthen our batting line-up. The kind of form we have seen from him in the last two or three games has been really great, so having him will be a big boost for us,” said Tilak.
“It will be a big boost for us with the kind of form Siraj and Padikkal are in. It will be really helpful. They can share their experience with the players since we have quite a few young players in the side,” he added.
Tilak, who is the vice-captain of India’s T20I team, also confirmed that Padikkal would slot in at No.3 while Ricky Bhui, who opened in the semifinal, will continue at the top of the order alongside N Jagadeesan.
“Ricky Bhui has played as an opener before, but he’s been playing in the middle-order for some time now. He’s a senior player, and he can adjust to the role; that’s why we thought he could open with Jaggi,” Tilak said.
