Ajit Agarkar forces Indian Test team stars to play in Duleep Trophy with a big announcement

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has said a number of Test players will be plying their trade in the upcoming Duleep Trophy to prepare for the Test season.

The former India pacer's comments have after the BCCI's directive for the players earlier this year. The BCCI recently stated that all the players, when not on national duty, should play domestic cricket. In recent times, most of the players, who are a part of the national set-up, have stayed away from domestic cricket.

Some of the players, who are not even regular in the Indian team, have also not prioritised domestic cricket in order to keep themselves fit for the IPL. However, the BCCI has decided to take action on the issue and has told the players to prioritize domestic cricket. Earlier this year, the likes of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer had to lose their central contracts as well after they decided against playing in the Ranji Trophy.

Ajit Agarkar has made it clear that the players have no other option but to play domestic cricket when they are not playing for Team India. Speaking ahead of Team India's departure for Sri Lanka on Monday (July 22), the national selector said that a number of Test players will be playing in the Duleep Trophy this year.

Test players likely to play Duleep Trophy: Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar said that while he is yet to talk with head coach Gautam Gambhir on the matter, a number of players will be playing in the tournament in early September. He stated that the Duleep Trophy is the only competitive game available for the Test players before the series against Bangladesh. Agarkar said that he and Gambhir will be discussing on the matter soon.

"I haven’t discussed with Gautam yet. It’s not always easy. But there will certainly be enough players out of that squad that are likely to play the first (Duleep Trophy) game at least. That’s the only game they can really play. We’ll sit down and discuss which guys really need to play," Agarkar said.

"It’s nice for the competition if all your top players come and play. It is not easy with such a packed and long season, it’s tough for the players if they have a week off somewhere to make them play. There will be some in the squad who will play," he added.

Meanwhile, India will be playing three T20Is and as many ODIs against Sri Lanka. The T20Is will be getting underway on July 27 while the ODIs will begin on August 2.