Sai Kishore will play for Team B in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
The Duleep Trophy is slated to get underway on September 5 in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru. It will mark the beginning of red-ball cricket in the domestic season, and will see some of the finest players from the international circuit and some of the young and emerging talent compete at the highest level.
Ahead of the First-Class tournament, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has been challenged by an Indian spinner.
R Sai Kishore, who has been a regular for the Tamil Nadu state team, recently recovered from a freak golf injury that he sustained during the IPL 2024 season. The 27-year-old returned to action during the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), where he played solely as a batter before featuring in the ongoing Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament.
Sai Kishore will next take part in the Duleep Trophy for Team B, alongside fellow spinners like Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Rahul Chahar.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, the Tamil Nadu lad said he is one of the best spinners in the country at the moment and is ready to play a Test match for India.
"I feel so confident because I have never trained in the block I have now. Maybe before getting into the IPL, I would have trained like this. Waking up at 4 am, training and then, bowling. I haven't put in as many hours as I have this pre-season in the past four-five years. During the IPL, you don't get time, you focus on recovery. After TNPL, I had a 15-20 day break, and used it to the best,” Sai Kishore said.
"I feel I am one of the best spinners in the country. Put me in a Test match, I am ready. So, I am not worried too much. Jadeja is there, I have never played alongside him. I have been with him in CSK, but never played together in red-ball format. So, it will be a good learning experience in terms of what he does. In saying that, I feel confident. So, I am ready more than ever," he added.
Duleep Trophy is likely to influence the selectors’ decision when they will sit to pick the 15-member squad for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting September 19 in Chennai.