As the second round of the Duleep Trophy kicks off in Anantapur on Thursday, attention will shift to players on the fringes of the national team and seasoned veterans who have been overlooked by selectors.

The star power of the season-opening red-ball event will see a noticeable reduction with the release of India squad members for a preparatory camp ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, starting September 19.

Sarfaraz Khan remains the sole India squad member competing in this round of the domestic competition.

Without the national regulars, the spotlight shifts to players like Rinku Singh, who, despite his impressive first-class record, was left out of the first round. The dynamic southpaw has also shown promise in T20 cricket.

Shubman Gill’s inclusion in the national team has elevated Mayank Agarwal to captain the India A side. Having not played a Test since March 2022, Agarwal needs substantial runs to re-enter the national selection radar.

Pacer Prasidh Krishna, who missed the opener due to incomplete rehab on a left quadriceps tendon, will be under close scrutiny as he is part of the India A squad, particularly with the Australia tour approaching.

India B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran will aim to bounce back after a disappointing performance in Bengaluru. Sarfaraz, who made a strong Test debut earlier this year, will be looking for a significant innings to solidify his place in the national setup before joining the team in Chennai.

Washington Sundar, also in the India B squad, is vying for a spot across all formats due to his all-round capabilities. Pacer Mukesh Kumar, who was overlooked for the first Test in favour of Akash Deep, will be eager to make his case.

For India C, openers Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad will seek to amass runs and make a case for the reserve opener position in the national team. Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar will also aim to build on his previous match-winning performance.

Rajat Patidar, who was dropped after a challenging debut series against England, will look to demonstrate his red-ball prowess. Shreyas Iyer, captain of India D, is another player hoping a significant run haul will bring him back into national consideration.

Devdutt Padikkal and Sanju Samson, notable absentees from India D’s playing XI, also need strong performances to rekindle their international prospects.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh will also need to make a compelling case to enhance his red-ball credentials.

Squads:

India A: 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: 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: 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: Shreyas lyer (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.