Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane kicked to the sidelines by BCCI for Duleep Trophy

The careers of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane seemed to be going downhill and them making an Indian comeback looks very bleak. As per the reports in Indian Express, it is learned that the stalwarts of Indian cricket will not be selected for the Duleep Trophy 2024.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee has decided to move on from Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. Therefore the duo won't be getting any more chances now. The reports claimed that selectors believe that young players in Sarfaraz Khan, and Dhruv Jurel have shown great potential to fill their place.

The Duleep Trophy 2024 will be taking place from 5th September with the second round slated to take place on September 12. The tournament will end on 24th September. The tournament will see four teams in India A, India B, India C, and India D featuring with some big names set to feature.

The reported omission of Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane from the Duleep Trophy comes as a big surprise. This is because even though they weren't part of the Indian team, they continued to play in the domestic circuit. Not getting to play in the Duleep Trophy will be a setback for them.

Ajinkya Rahane had a decent domestic season last year. He guided Mumbai to the win in the Ranji Trophy for the record 42nd time. He also played some handy knocks for the team. On the other hand, Cheteshwar Pujara was amongst the runs and even has been consistently scoring runs in the County cricket.

Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara have been great servants for the Indian team in the Tests. They were the backbone of the team in the format and guided team to the many famous wins. The duo along with Virat Kohli were the main reason behind the dominance of the team from 2012 to 2022.

When both Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara were in the team, it's fair to say that the Indian team had a dominating middle-order. It potentially was the strongest batting lineup as the team also won games overseas as well, winning in England, Australia, and South Africa.

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are unlikely to feature for India now

With Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara not in contention for the Duleep Trophy, it's fair to say that we might have seen the last of them in the Indian colors. Also with youngsters getting opportunities in the Indian team, even if the two score runs in domestic cricket, there are very less chances of them making a return.

Sarfaraz Khan and Dhurv Jurel on the other hand have performed well for India in the limited opportunities that they have were part of the Test series against England. They did a great job for the team under pressure situations and helped team win the series.