Duleep Trophy first round match shifted to Bengaluru

Bengaluru: With some of the India regulars, except pacer Jasprit Bumrah and senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, likely to appear in the first round of the Duleep Trophy, the BCCI has decided to shift one of the opening matches from Anantapur to Bengaluru.

Senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

also might get an exemption, and the choice of appearing in the tournament is entirely on them.

The Duleep Trophy was earlier scheduled to kick-off with two sets of first round matches at Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh from September 5, but now one of those games has been shifted to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here to reduce the logistical inconveniences.

Anantapur is approximately 230 kms away from Bengaluru and the city is not connected via flight.

“The decision has been made to accommodate some of the top players, so that they get a feel of the red-ball cricket ahead of the (Test) series against Bangladesh,” a source close to the development told to the news agency.