State associations to appoint zonal panels to pick Duleep Trophy teams

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has written to all state units about the appointment of zonal selection committees that will pick teams for the Duleep Trophy. The new constitution of the BCCI doesn’t allow its national selectors to pick zonal teams and that task has been handed to zonal panels.
The Indian board has decided to stage the Duleep Trophy from September 8 to 25 this year. As per a BCCI circular, the tournament will be played on a knockout basis and state associations will be divided zonally.
“All respective zones are requested to appoint a Zonal Selection Committee comprising one selector from each state. This Zonal Selection Committee will pick a 15- member squad for the tournament. Further, all zones are also requested to nominate a Zonal Convener who will oversee proceedings and report to the Board,” Abey Kuruvilla, Game Development Manager of the BCCI, informed all state units.
The Zonal Conveners will also nominate their support staff including coach, physio, trainer, performance analyst, masseur and manager.
“All Zonal Conveners are requested to conduct their respective selection committee meetings and submit the squad, including players and support staff, as per above guidelines on or before Friday, 26th August 2022.”

The Duleep Trophy will be staged in Tamil Nadu this year with a few new venues in Coimbatore, Salem and Chennai hosting games.
Rahane likely to lead West Zone
India middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane is likely to lead West Zone in the Duleep Trophy, with the team likely to be picked in Mumbai on August 26.
Rahane tore his hamstring during the Indian Premier League this season while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders. He suffered the injury during KKR’s last contest, against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 14 at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune. Rahane later underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He resumed batting a few weeks ago and is expected to be match-fit soon.
Tare out of white-ball reckoning
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has announced a 47-player l for its senior off-season camp, and it doesn’t include Aditya Tare. Chairman of the selection committee Salil Ankola informed that the selectors had already spoken to Tare and informed him of their intention of trying out youngsters.
“We have told him what we are thinking and what our plan is. I had spoken to him during the Ranji Trophy knockout stage and informed him that we wanted to groom youngsters in white-ball cricket,” Ankola said.
However, the chief selector said Tare’s exclusion from the off-season camp pertained only to white-ball cricket, and the wicketkeeper-batsman will be in the scheme of things when red-ball cricket starts later this year.