Comeback Time: Akash Deep Eyes New Zealand Test Ticket In Irani Cup Return

Having laid low for seven months due to a lower-back stress fracture, talented pacer Akash Deep will look to go full throttle for the Rest of India against Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup fixture starting Thursday. Akash Deep last played in the Ranji Trophy semifinal in February and, after seven months of rehabilitation, he will get a chance to prove his fitness as well as regain some bowling rhythm.At least two national selectors will be in attendance and will keenly watch Akash, who is in contention to become the fifth pacer for the New Zealand-bound Test squad alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar, if all remain fit.

At the picturesque Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium, the Rishabh Pant-led side, featuring multiple international players and some prolific domestic performers, will take on the home team, which will miss its primary bowler, Auqib Nabi, who is currently on national duty.

Srinagar has not hosted a BCCI match of this stature for a long time and, with free entry for the general public, there should be no dearth of support for the Ranji Trophy champions.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the Irani Cup used to be a trial game for India hopefuls and a place in the Rest of India squad meant that a player was virtually knocking on the national team's doors.

Gone are those days and the Irani Cup is just another game in the BCCI's cramped calendar, more so because one national side is playing T20 cricket at the Asian Games, while another senior team is involved in an ODI series against the West Indies.

The next batch of fringe players is involved in an India A "Test" fixture against Australia A in Puducherry and hence the Irani Cup is more about the likes of skipper Rishabh Pant getting game time and new spin sensation Manav Suthar also trying to force his way into the New Zealand Test squad as the third spinner.

Pant is now a one-format player after being ignored by the national white-ball teams, but the Irani Cup and some India A games later in New Zealand would certainly ensure that he remains in the groove for the Test series in mid-November.

Then there will be domestic doyen Sarfaraz Khan, who will be a local favourite, being the son-in-law of the region.

As the vice-captain of the team, Sarfaraz would like to put up a power-packed performance which, if not enough to earn him a place in the Test squad, will keep him in the mix for India A's shadow tour of New Zealand preceding the senior team's assignment.

For a lot of these Rest of India players, the Irani Cup is a match to get into the India A squad rather than the main team, where 90 per cent of the picks are already settled.

That would be the aim of the likes of Sanat Sangwan, Ayush Doseja, Anukul Roy and Saransh Jain, to name a few.

For Jammu and Kashmir, the Irani Cup is an opportunity to show that there are more talents knocking on the door apart from Nabi. For skipper Paras Dogra, in his 25th first-class season, it is more about playing for the love of the game.

Squads

Rest of India: Rishabh Pant (captain & wicketkeeper), Aryan Juyal (wicketkeeper), Sanat Sangwan, R Smaran, Ayush Doseja, Sarfaraz Khan (vice-captain), Shikhar Mohan, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Saransh Jain, Anukul Roy, Akash Deep, Aryan Pandey, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Kumar, Mukesh Choudhary.

Jammu and Kashmir: Paras Dogra (captain), Qamran Iqbal, Shubham Khajuria, Yawer Hassan, Shubham Pundir, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wicketkeeper), Abid Mushtaq, Kawalpreet Singh, Sunil Kumar, Umar Nazir, Sahil Lotra, Vanshaj Sharma, Nasir Lone, Rohit Sharma.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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