Musheer Khan And...? 5 Uncapped Cricketers Who Have Impressed In Duleep Trophy 2024

5 uncapped cricketers who shone brightly in Duleep Trophy 2024 (x.com)5 uncapped cricketers who shone brightly in Duleep Trophy 2024 (x.com)

The prestigious arena of Duleep Trophy competition continues to remain one of the most revered platforms for young emerging stars in Indian cricket. While the 2024 edition of the tournament was originally designed to give India’s established Test players a chance to rehearse prior to their hectic international season, a number of uncapped Indian cricketers also stood up to the occasion to demonstrate their talents on a national level.

Here at OneCricket, we take a look at five such uncapped and young Indian players who have shone brightly after the first couple of rounds of the 2024 Duleep Trophy season.

5. Musheer Khan

Young all-rounder Musheer Khan plundered a match-winning 181 for India B in the opening match of the Duleep Trophy 2024 season in Bengaluru earlier this month. The right-hander belted 16 boundaries and five maximums in his 373-ball knock, and accounted for nearly 60 percent of his team’s first innings total of 321.

Musheer’s marathon effort with the bat marked his third first-class century and first since his prolific Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season for Mumbai. Fittingly, the 19-year-old was rewarded with a ‘Player of the Match’ award after India B crashed Shubman Gill-led star-studded India A line-up by 76 runs.

4. Harshit Rana

Harshit Rana (x.com)Harshit Rana (x.com)

Delhi fast bowler and IPL superstar Harshit Rana has picked up two four-wicket hauls in each of his first two appearances of the tournament so far. For starters, the right-arm paceman demolished India C top-order by collecting figures of 4-33 at Anantapur, and followed it up with 4-51 against Mayank Agarwal’s India A.

With eight wickets from two matches, Harshit Rana has emerged as one of the leading wicket-takers of the competition and one of the biggest standout performers among uncapped Indian players. Rana’s bowling average of 19.12 and a strike-rate of 32.62 have both compounded in India D’s success in the bowling department off late.

3. Ricky Bhui

Ricky Bhui (x.com)Ricky Bhui (x.com)

Andhra batting veteran Ricky Bhui has tallied the highest number of runs among all batters at the end of the first two rounds of the 2024 Duleep Trophy season. With 184 runs from four innings, the prolific right-handed batter has maintained an average of 46 and scored his runs at a strike-rate of 52.57. Turning up for India D under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, Ricky Bhui punched out a fighting 113 from 195 balls against India A with 14 boundaries and three sweltering sixes.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, India D slumped to a 186-run defeat in the game as he received little-to-no assistance from the rest of his colleagues. Bhui also packed a valiant 44 on a turning Anantapur surface earlier this month against some rampaging India C spinners.

2. Abhimanyu Easwaran

India B captain and opening batter Abhimanyu Easwaran registered twin failures against India A in the first match of the 2024 Duleep Trophy season. A veteran of 96 first-class matches, Easwaran justified his seniority by batting out for his team in the very next match against India C. Grinding out at the crease for a sum of 286 deliveries, the right-hander flogged 14 boundaries and a six to produce an unbeaten 157.

In doing so, Abhimanyu Easwaran became only the seventh cricketer in Duleep Trophy history and the first in 21 years to carry his bat in an innings, joining the likes of Wasim Jaffer and Gautam Gambhir.

1. Anshul Kamboj

Anshul Kamboj (x.com)Anshul Kamboj (x.com)

Haryana all-rounder and Mumbai Indians star Anshul Kamboj has picked up 11 wickets in two Duleep Trophy 2024 matches for India C. The right-arm fast bowler claimed eight of those wickets in a single India B innings at Anantapur to bag career-best first-class figures of 8-69. Kamboj also scored a swift 38 off 27 balls in the same match with five boundaries and two sixes.

After the conclusion of the first two rounds of the season, the 23-year-old Haryana-based cricketer finds himself at the top of the wicket-taking charts with 11 scalps at an impressive bowling average of just 15.