India’s domestic season kick-starts with the Duleep Trophy on the 5th of September and will see a lot of big names featuring in the opening match of the tournament. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) will host the opening game after the game originally scheduled to take place in Anantpur has been relocated to Bengaluru.

“This decision comes at the request of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). We have agreed to host the match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium,” a KSCA official said. Ahead of the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh that begins on September 18, the BCCI has decided to include elite domestic and international players in the four-team Duleep Trophy. This decision is reflected in the venue modification.

Leading players have been directed to take part in the competition, barring Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rohit Sharma. The majority of Indian main side players are anticipated to participate, either fully or partially, including KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, it is up to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to decide whether or not to take part.

One prominent absence among the top international players is likely to be Hardik Pandya, as he is no longer participating in red-ball cricket. Ishan Kishan, who has consistently been left out of all international assignments, is expected to be included in one of the four squads by the selectors. Jasprit Bumrah has been exempted from the domestic duties, while Mohammed Shami—who is still recovering from surgery—is not expected to compete.

The BCCI and selectors came to the conclusion together, with new coach Gautam Gambhir participating in the process. An insider revealed that the reason for the exclusion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma was that the two elite players are often overworked. The insider clarified, “It’s up to them whether or not to play.” While Kohli hasn’t featured in a domestic game since 2015, Rohit didn’t play in a domestic match since 2021.

The BCCI’s move to address the problem of players missing domestic games is in line with the decision to include internationals in domestic tournaments. As part of this approach, the board last year noticeably removed Iyer and Ishan from the central contract list.