Pujara and dashing batsman Suryakumar Yadav, who was amongst the standbyes for the WTC final, will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the West Zone side for the Duleep Trophy.
West Zone play their first match in the Duleep Trophy from July 5, when they take on the winners of the Central versus East Zone in the semifinals, at Alur.
Amidst calls for transition of India’s ageing Test team, India’s selectors on Friday dropped Pujara, who has been inconsistent of late. The 35-year-old 102-Test veteran has been scoring heavily in the County circuit since the 2022 season, but hasn’t been able to find big runs while playing for India.
However, sources indicated that it’s not the end of the road for the Saurashtra man, who has been India’s No 3 Test batsman for more than a decade now.
“The selectors and the coach (Rahul Dravid) wanted to try out youngsters like Jaiswal and Gaikwad, which is why Pujara has not been picked for this tour. If he scores runs in domestic cricket, the doors are not closed on him, and that has been communicated to him,” a reliable source told TOI.
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