Middle-order batter Rinku Singh and some seasoned names not selected earlier in the domestic cricket league, the Duleep trophy by the national selectors, now aims to attract their attention when round two of the Duleep Trophy begins in Anantapur on Thursday.
The star power in the season-opening red-ball event will be reduced significantly for round two with India squad players released for a national camp ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19.
Sarfaraz Khan is the lone Indian squad member who will be featuring in the domestic competition.
In the absence of national regulars, the focus will shift to Rinku, who was surprisingly not picked for the first round despite having an impressive first-class record. The spirited southpaw has also done well for India in T20 cricket.
Shubman Gill joining the national team for the Test series was replaced by Mayank Agarwal, who will captain the India A unit. Having played his last Test in March 2022, Agarwal needs a bagful of runs to get back into the national reckoning.
Pacer Prasidh Krishna, who missed the Duleep Trophy opener match due to his wellness issues, has now been named to the India A squad. With the Australia tour on the horizon, the performance of the tall pacer will be keenly observed.
In the India B squad, captain Abhimanyu Easwaran will need to lead from the front following a forgettable outing in Bengaluru last week.
Sarfaraz, who made a successful Test debut against England earlier this year, was upstaged by his brother Musheer in the opening game, the latter's 181 taking India B to a fine win over India A.
The elder brother will be eyeing a big knock before joining the national team in Chennai.
Washington Sundar also features in the India B team and his all-round abilities keep him in the mix for all formats.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar, who was beaten by Akash Deep in the first round, will have a point to prove.
India C openers Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be looking to pile on the runs to make a case for the reserve opener's role in the India setup.
Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar will be aiming to build on his match-winning performance against India D.
Rajat Patidar dropped from the Indian team following a disastrous debut series against England, will need to show the hunger for red-ball runs.
Shreyas Iyer, captain of India D, is another player who has been side-lined from the Test squad and only a mountain of runs can bring him back into the national game.
The same goes for Devdutt Padikkal and Sanju Samson, some of the notable names missing from India D's team.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh too needs to do a lot more to enhance his red-ball credentials.
The updated Indian Squad for all the teams in Duleep Trophy:
India A squad: Mayank Agarwal (C), Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat, Pratham Singh, Akshay Wadkar, SK Rasheed, Shams Mulani, Aaqib Khan.
India B squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (WK), Suyash Prabhudessai, Rinku Singh, Himanshu Mantri (WK).
India C squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (WK), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (WK), Sandeep Warrier India D squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar, Sanju Samson (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Vidwath Kaverappa.
India D squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar, Sanju Samson (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Vidwath Kaverappa.
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