Navdeep Saini who made his Test debut during the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21, was not included in any of the four squads initially announced for the Duleep Trophy 2024.
However, with Mohammed Siraj ruled out of the first round, Saini found his way into Team B, led by Abhimanyu Easwaran. Before he could take to bowling, Saini contributed significantly with the bat scoring a half-century in a record-breaking partnership with Musheer Khan.
In the second session of Day 2, the 31-year-old pacer showcased his bowling skills as the first change bowler, claiming wickets in his initial spell.
In his second over, Saini delivered a booming inswinger that caught India A skipper Shubman Gill off guard, hitting the off stump after Gill had shouldered arms. This breakthrough ended the 57-run opening partnership between Gill and Mayank Agarwal.
Saini followed up by picking up Agarwal’s wicket in his third over, with Rishabh Pant executing a fantastic catch diving to his left. Agarwal managed to score 36 runs off 45 deliveries.
During his first spell, Saini bowled a maiden over and conceded a total of 32 runs from six overs. Earlier on Day 1, Saini came in to bat at a challenging position, with India B reeling at 94/7.
He formed a record-breaking 205-run partnership with teenager Musheer, marking the highest partnership for the eighth wicket or lower in Duleep Trophy history. The previous record of 197 runs was set by Abhishek Nayar and Ramesh Powar in the 2010 edition for West Zone in Rajkot.
Batting at number nine, Saini scored 56 runs off 144 balls striking eight fours and a six. Saini was the last batter to be dismissed, losing his wicket to Akash Deep. Thanks to their remarkable partnership India B managed to post a total of 321 despite facing a significant collapse.
