On September 5, Duleep Trophy will begin with spinner R Sai Kishore declaring his readiness to become a Test cricketer and positioning himself as a major candidate for the Indian Test squad. The tournament is set to take place in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, and Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru which mark the start of India’s domestic red-ball season and will be crucial for players hoping to find a spot in the Test team for the forthcoming series against Bangladesh.
Sai Kishore is playing for Team B in Duleep Trophy alongside ace spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar who are all competing. In an interview with The Parami News Saikishore expresses his confidence of doing well at this level.
“I feel so confident because I have never trained like this before. Perhaps I would have before heading into IPL trained like this. You wake up at four o’clock, you train and then you bowl. Not as much time as I’ve spent during this pre-season past five years,” Sai Kishore said.
His self-assurance has been buoyed by a hardy pre-season training regime that geared him towards red-ball cricket battles. Although there was an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 golf mishap that interrupted his rhythm briefly, he returned strongly appearing as a batsman for Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) before taking full bowling role again in Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament which is currently going on.
“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”, stated Kishore while discussing about having Jadeja on his side during the Duleep trophy when he said: “He is here Jaddu; i haven’t played along with him yet. So he’s in CSK (Chennai Super Kings) but we haven’t played together in red-ball form. So it will be learning lot about what he does and I am confident as well, so I am more than ready.”
Sai Kishor’s performance will be monitored closely given that the Duleep Trophy is expected to play a critical role in determining the Indian Test squad for Bangladesh series from September 19. His declaration of readiness for Test cricket signals his ambition to join the ranks of India’s elite spinner and make a significant impact on the international stage.
