Duleep Trophy a stepping stone for Sarfaraz, Iyer in Test comeback bid

New Delhi: Team India batters Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan have confirmed their availability to play for West Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on August 28. The zonal selection for the tournament will happen on Friday.

According to a report from Hindustan Times, sources with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) have confirmed that Iyer and Sarfaraz will play in the tournament.

Apart from the two batters, all-rounder Shivam Dube and Tushar Deshpande have also confirmed their intention to feature in the tournament. West Zone have already qualified for the semi-final and they will face the winner of the quarter-final on September 4.

"Yes, Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan have confirmed their availability. Tushar Deshpande and Shivam Dube are available as well for the crucial tie," the source said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Iyer has played 14 Test matches and has smashed one hundred and five half-centuries. He performed brilliantly in the last domestic season for Mumbai, which led to a lot of people believing that he would be selected for the series against England.

Sarfaraz has been scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket, but was overlooked for the England tour despite losing several kilos. The right-handed batter has amassed 150 runs in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand, but failed to perform in the next two games.

Shardul Thakur will lead the West Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, while Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer have been included in the team. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been ignored.

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Shardul Thakur (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aarya Desai, Harvik Desai, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jaymeet Patel, Manan Hingrajia, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendra Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala.