Duleep Trophy 2024: Musheer Khan bails India B out with a resolute 181 runs against India A in Bengaluru. Who is Musheer Khan and all you need to know about him.
The first day of the Duleep Trophy saw a valiant century from young Musheer Khan. Playing for India B, he rescued his team from a precarious 94/7 to a respectable 202/7 against India A at stumps. Musheer’s innings finally ended at 181 on Day 2. He was helped by another fighting fifty knock from Navdeep Saini. With this innings, Musheer has definitely opened a window of opportunity for himself for national selection ahead of the hectic World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.
Musheer came in to bat at 33/1 on a slightly greenish wicket in overcast conditions. He survived a few close calls but dug in even as his partners made a beeline to the pavilion. He found an able partner in Saini at No. 9, as the two survived the tough phases and later capitalised in the final session.
Musheer Khan exhibits fundamental red-ball skills
Musheer took 66 balls to hit his first four of the innings. But as the pitch eased out and the pacers got tired after a probing spell, Musheer brought out his attacking game to the fore. He unleashed his cover drives against the pacers and targeted the spinners in the final session, racing to his ton in 205 balls on his Duleep Trophy debut. His brother Sarfaraz Khan and his teammates gave a standing ovation to appreciate the innings.
Post the day’s play, Musheer was quoted as saying that he and his brother Sarfaraz have a similar game, and he tries “to follow whatever he (Sarfaraz) does. In the middle, he only asked me to follow my technique.” The knock also came in for praise from Suryakumar Yadav, who took to Twitter to congratulate the junior Khan, stating, “What a knock, Musheer Khan. Supported really well by Navdeep Saini. Duty ke baad roz practice, jitna duty utna practice (daily practice after duty, practice as much as duty).”
Promising signs for India’s red-ball arsenal
At just 19 years of age, Musheer Khan has shown a big appetite for runs and is taking the longer version of the game like a duck to water. This knock against the cream of India’s fast bowlers—Akash Deep, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan—would have done a world of good to his confidence. This knock, which came in dire circumstances, also speaks volumes of Musheer’s character, skills, and temperament. A 19-year-old youngster doing well in the longer format assures India’s Test cricket is in good hands and not lured by the IPL or the T20 craze.
Musheer already has a few crucial knocks in his kitty. This shows that he is the next Wonder Boy coming from the Mumbai stable. In the 2023-2024 Ranji Trophy, he struck 203 not out in the quarterfinal against Baroda, 55 in the semi-final against Tamil Nadu, and 136 against Vidarbha in the final, helping his team lift another title. He also became the youngest to score a ton in the final of the Ranji Trophy, going past Sachin Tendulkar. He also struck two more tons after that, aggregating 360 runs in 7 games in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup. He also took 7 wickets with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling in the tournament.
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