India’s wicketkeeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik, has expressed his anger and confusion over the exclusion of Baba Indrajith from South Zone’s team for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. Karthik is seeking clarification from the selection committee regarding the reasons behind Indrajith’s non-selection, considering his exceptional performance in India’s domestic circuit.
The highly anticipated Duleep Trophy is scheduled to commence in Bengaluru on June 28, featuring six teams representing different regions of India: North, South, East, West, Central, and North East.
On June 13, the selectors from all the South Zone associations gathered to finalize the squad for the Duleep Trophy 2023. The chosen roster comprises several well-known domestic talents such as KS Bharat, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, and Tilak Varma. Hanuma Vihari was appointed as the captain of the team, with Mayank Agarwal assuming the role of vice-captain.
Expressing his dissatisfaction, Dinesh Karthik questioned the selection committee’s decision to exclude Baba Indrajith from the squad. He took to Twitter, stating, “I don’t understand the selection committee these days. Baba Indrajith played for the Rest of India against MP in the first week of March 2023. There have been no first-class matches since then, but he is not included in the South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy. Can someone tell me why??”
It is worth noting that Indrajith recently represented Abahani Limited in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, where he had three appearances but scored only 19 runs. Prior to that, he featured for the Rest of India in the Irani Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh.
The South Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2023 includes Hanuma Vihari as the captain, Mayank Agarwal as the vice-captain, KS Bharat as the wicketkeeper, and other notable players like Ricky Bhui, Sai Sudharshan, Washington Sundar, R Samarth, Tilak Varma, Sachin Baby, Sai Kishore, V Kaverappa, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, KV Sasikanth, and Darshan Misal.
With Dinesh Karthik’s discontent highlighting the omission of Baba Indrajith, it remains to be seen how the selection committee responds and provides clarity regarding the decision made for the South Zone’s Duleep Trophy squad.
