Indian Players Whose Test Selection Is In Doubt After Duleep Trophy Failure

Shardul Thakur [Source: AFP]Ishan Kishan’s East Zone won the Duleep Trophy 2026 title by overpowering South Zone in a one-sided final in Chennai. The tournament proved to be a promising platform for India’s Test prospects, with several players putting their red-ball credentials on display and strengthening their case for national selection.For some players, however, the Duleep Trophy exposed glaring shortcomings, leaving their Test ambitions hanging in the balance. Here, we take a look at three such players whose possible Test selection for Team India could now face a serious roadblock.1. Saransh JainMadhya Pradesh all-rounder Saransh Jain was selected in Central Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2026 season. Not long ago, the cricketer also made his Test debut for India, doing so in Colombo for a match against Sri Lanka.While Jain returned with underwhelming bowling figures from Sri Lanka, the 33-year-old was still in direct competition with Washington Sundar amidst the latter’s recent injury concerns.Also Read- "Stand and Salute": Netizens Bow Down To Captain Ishan Kishan For Duleep Trophy TriumphEven though Sundar has secured a fitness clearance, a strong Duleep Trophy 2026 season from Saransh Jain would have still kept him in the loop for a place in the Indian Test side in the coming months, especially considering Team India is scheduled to host Australia for a blockbuster five-match series at home next year.However, Jain’s prospects seem to have taken a massive hit following his below-par Duleep Trophy stint. In the solitary match he played against the East Zone, the 33-year-old managed to score just 14 runs across both innings in Bengaluru, and picked up only one wicket at an expense of 90 runs.Moreover, Jain also leaked runs at more than four-an-over to further compound his disappointing outing with the ball.2. Arshdeep SinghArshdeep Singh continues to remain an integral member of Team India’s T20I squad, and makes sporadic appearances in the team’s ODI setup. While the Punjabi paceman has never been considered for Test selection, his ability of making the new ball talk would have proven handy for the Indian cricket team on their upcoming tour of New Zealand.Arshdeep’s left-arm swing bowling and his ability to create a difficult angle for batters are just some of the factors the selectors might discuss before finalizing the Indian squad.As it happened, the 27-year-old failed to make the most of his opportunity for the North Zone team in the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy 2026 season.In four innings of the tournament, the speedster managed to grab just six wickets, including just three scalps in his previous three innings.One can assume that an impressive Duleep Trophy outing might have brought Arshdeep Singh extremely close to a surprise Test call-up for the two-match series in New Zealand.3. Shardul ThakurWhile Shardul Thakur has not played a single Test match for Team India since July last year, the senior all-rounder tends to remain in contention for a place in the Indian Test squad, especially for a high-profile overseas tour.With Nitish Kumar Reddy struggling with his injury, the Indian team management is desperatly in need of a quality fast-bowling all-rounder.An opportunity to play for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026, just before India’s upcoming tour of New Zealand, therefore presented Thakur with the perfect platform to stake his claim for a Test recall.However, the cricketer failed to make any impact with either bat or ball, as the West Zone failed to qualify for the finals. In the match against North Zone in Bengaluru last month, Shardul Thakur made just 10 runs and picked up just one wicket across both innings at an average of 58.With the series against New Zealand and Australia fast approaching, these three players will now have to wait for another opportunity to revive their Test aspirations.Also Read- Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan Summoned For Criminal Investigation