BCCI abandons new Duleep Trophy format amid pressure

The Duleep Trophy is set to return to its traditional zonal from next year after the state units gave a thumbs down to the four-team concept introduced this season.

The red-ball event featured four teams -- India A, India B, India C, India D. India A beat India C to win the competition earlier this month.

Usually, six teams from as many zones -- central, east, west, north, south and north east -- take part in the tournament, providing more opportunities to the players from their respective zones.

"The state units felt the format used this season did not give a fair representation to the players from their respective zones. The traditional zonal format gives players more opportunities zone wise and that is what was conveyed in the AGM today," a state unit official told PTI after the BCCI AGM in Bengaluru.

The BCCI had rebranded the Duleep Trophy this season and the tournament attracted plenty of eyeballs with some star India players being part of the first round.

Rishabh Pant marked his red-ball comeback in this tournament scoring a confidence-boosting half-century. Shubman Gill captained the India A side in the opening round before handing over the leadership duties to Mayank Agarwal to join the India Test squad for the ongoing series against Bangladesh.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, K L Rahul and Dhruv Jurel were the India players who were part of the tournament.

Akash's splendid effort in the opening round helped him retain his place in the India squad while it also gave opportunities to the next line of cricketers to make an impact ahead of a busy Test season.

Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal too was picked for the Tests after an impressive outing in the Duleep Trophy.

Shreyas Iyer, dropped for the Bangladesh series, captained India D and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is yet to play Test cricket, led India C.

Ishan Kishan, who like Iyer lost his central contract for not following BCCI's directive to play domestic cricket, made a memorable comeback with a fine hundred.

The presence of India regulars and fringe players put fresh life into the event.