Kuldeep Sen, a fast bowler from Madhya Pradesh who made his international debut in December of last year, will play for Tamil Nadu in the domestic 2023–2024 season. According to reports, Kuldeep has received permission from the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) to represent Tamil Nadu as a guest player.
In addition to 49 strikes in List A and T20 cricket, Kuldeep has so far taken 52 wickets in 17 first-class matches. He is now recovering from an injury, and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) is keeping an eye on him. He only participated in two IPL games earlier this year, and since April, he hasn’t played any competitive cricket.
In the Buchi Babu competition, which has been reinstated as a lead-up to the Ranji Trophy, Kuldeep is not a member of the Tamil Nadu teams. However, his probable presence in the Tamil Nadu assault could provide a big boost for a group that is trying to win the Ranji Trophy for the first time since 1987–1988. When T Natarajan suddenly entered the picture and boosted the pace assault in 2016–17, they last advanced to the Ranji knockout rounds.
The MPCA has also granted Gaurav Yadav a NOC to represent Puducherry in the forthcoming domestic season. Ankit Sharma, a bowling all-arounder who is also from MP, will be replaced by him. KB Arun Karthik and Paras Dogra are probably the other two professionals representing Puducherry. With 23 strikes in five games, Gaurav led all seamers in wickets during MP’s march to the 2022 Ranji championship.
Hanuma Vihari was rumoured to be transferring from Andhra to MP at one point, but it appears that he has decided to remain in Andhra. Kulwant Khejroliya of Delhi, a left-arm fast bowler, is being considered to fill the vacuum left at MP by the departure of Kuldeep and Gaurav.
Sulakshan Kulkarni, the new head coach, was eager to bring in a quick from outside the state because Tamil Nadu is lacking pure fast bowlers, especially for the Ranji Trophy. Kuldeep can hit for speeds up to 140 kph when in rhythm and also cause trouble for hitters with extra bounce. He carries with him the knowledge gained from being a member of an MP team that recently won the Ranji Trophy in 2022. He will now direct Tamil Nadu’s speed assault, which may also include Sandeep Warrier and rookie H Trilog Nag. Warrier, who relocated from Kerala in 2020, is now considered a local player because he works for India Cements in the region.
Gurjapneet Singh, a left-arm bowler who stood out for the Madurai Panthers in the TNPL, might replace Natarajan, who has switched his attention to white-ball cricket due to a recurrence of a knee injury.
The TNCA had lately started a talent-hunt initiative, expanding its scouting nets in their effort to develop a sizable pool of bowlers, particularly pacers. The bowlers who made the short list subsequently participated in camps in Chennai, Theni, and Tiruppur.
In preparation for the upcoming domestic season, Kulkarni had also oversaw two training camps in Coimbatore and Dindigul. Then, Kulkarni and bowling coach L Balaji attended TNPL games.
The TNCA president’s XI and TNCA XI teams will compete in the four-day Buchi Babu tournament from August 15 to September 11 in the districts, and Vijay Shankar and M. Shahrukh Khan will serve as their respective captains. While Washington Sundar will be serving his country in Dublin, senior spinner R Ashwin has been given a break. The event will also feature teams from Mumbai, Delhi, MP, Bengal, Haryana, Baroda, Kerala, and Jammu & Kashmir.
