Rishabh Pant will make his much-awaited return to red-ball cricket,.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: The M Chinnaswamy stadium will host one of the two games in the opening round of this season's Duleep Trophy, a senior official in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) confirmed on Monday evening.
As per schedule, both the four-day games were scheduled to start in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh on September 5, but it is understood that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), keeping in mind logistical inconveniences, has requested the KSCA to host a game.
The move is aimed at getting most of the internationals to have some match practice ahead of the two-Test series beginning in Chennai on September 19. Having one of the opening matches in Bengaluru makes logistical sense as the team management wants to follow it up with a short camp before leaving for Chennai.
The suggestion came from the senior selection committee to the BCCI which, in consultation with KSCA and ACA, shifted the match.
The M Chinnaswamy stadium, the source revealed, was confirmed as the venue 'four days ago'.
"We were told to be ready earlier and then we were informed four days ago that we will be hosting the game for sure," said the source. "The pitches will certainly have some wear and tear because this game comes on the heels of the Maharaja Trophy T20 tournament which ends on September 21 but that's all the time we have. Also, the No.7 pitch - the centre wicket - is only for Test matches and the Indian Premier League so we will not be using that."
The move to have contracted players available for domestic duties comes in the wake of the BCCI's new-found push in the direction. In February, secretary Jay Shah had sent out a letter that prioritising IPL over domestic cricket would lead to "severe implications", which had later led to Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan losing their central contracts after they missed some of the Ranji Trophy games just before the IPL.
It is learnt that senior spinner R Ashwin and pacer Jasprit Bumrah have been given an extended break while skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli can decide for themselves whether to play or not.
While stumper Rishabh Pant will make his much-awaited return to red-ball cricket, Kishan, Iyer, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill will be in action.