Irani Cup: Players To Watch Out For Ahead Of India's Tour Of Australia Featuring Prithvi Shaw

Irani Cup: With India scheduled to play five Tests in Australia, the Irani Cup match could be a chance for some of the players to audition for a place in the national team.

Irani Cup match between Mumbai and Rest Of India will get underway in Lucknow on October 1.

Source : PTI

India's domestic cricket calendar is already up and runnin with the Duleep Trophy. With India's long tour of Australia ahead, the Indian selectors must have eyed a few talents whom they can possibly trust to pick in the senior Indian men's team when they tour Australia for a marathon tour later this year. And now with the Irani Cup match scheduleed to get underway on October 1 (Tuesday) at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, it would once again be an opportunity for some to knock the doors of national selection.

Mumbai vs Rest Of India fixture of the Irani Cup 2024 will see several promising Indian openers with the Indian team probably looking at one of them for the squad to pick as a reserve opener in what happens to be a five-Test series. However, at least three openers will be auditioning for that one spot. 

READ HERE | Irani Cup 2024: Mumbai vs Rest Of India Date, Venue, Timings, Live Streaming & Squads

It could all come down to a choice between Abhumanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad and B Sai Sudharsan. While Abhimanyu was India's third choice opener during India's tour of South Africa, the 29-year-old Dehra Dun-born cricketer scored two centuries in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy and if he continues his stellar form in the Irani Cup, he will have presented a solid case for himself for an India call-up.

Abhimanyu might have missed out on making his India debut so far but he might get a place in the squad, given his consistent performances. The other opener India can turn to is Ruturaj Gaikwad. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain has delivered in the India A set-up as well as the IPL but did not have a very good Duleep Trophy outing. As far as the third option is concerned, it is B Sai Sudharsan. He played a sensational knock in the IPL 2023 final and had a great run in the domestic circuit as well heading into the County cricket where he smashed a ton for Surrey. Sudharsan ended up as India A's highest run-scorer against England Lions and will have the stage to outshine Gaikwad and Abhimanyu Easwaran in the Irani Cup fixture.

Chance For Prithvi Shaw To Make His Presence Felt In Irani Cup

Menawhile, the Irani Cup will be a chance for the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Prithvi Shaw to make their presence felt. While Iyer did feature in the Duleep Trophy as a middle-order batter, Shaw, another top-order candidate, did not even make any of the four squads. He had a mixed season in County for Northants but must make this Irani Cup count. The other player to watch out out for, but in the middle-order, is Sarfaraz Khan who hasn't had a good start to the domestic season and with the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Ricky Bhui scoring runs, only a good season will help him retain that spot in the India Test squad.