India's domestic season doesn't start until September 5. So top players not part of the national team currently don't really have many opportunities to stay in touch with the game. Some players are occupied with state T20 leagues, while a few others are featuring in the county circuit in England. Here's a lowdown on how they have fared so far.
Shaw last played for India in 2021, and has been set back by injuries, loss of form, and disciplinary issues. On the comeback road following a modest IPL 2024 , where he managed just a solitary half-century in eight innings, Shaw is back in the UK playing for Northamptonshire as part of a deal he struck with the county last August after being out with a knee injury.
Shaw's run of form until that point had been scintillating - 429 runs in four innings, including a record-breaking 153-ball 244 against Somerset, the second-highest List A score in England. He seems to have taken off from where he left off in the one-day competition. After scores of 9 and 40 in his first two outings, Shaw has now recorded 76, 97 and 72 - all at a strike rate of over 120 - in his last three innings. The most recent knock, a 59-ball 72 , set up a thumping 130-run win for his side over Worcestershire. Prior to the List A appearances, Shaw also featured in two championship games.
Shaw's county assignments will have him miss Mumbai's pre-season tournaments, starting with the Buchi Babu Trophy in Chennai. He had also missed the side's conditioning camp in Bengaluru late last month. Sarfaraz Khan will lead Mumbai in Chennai, where they will miss several first-choice players, including Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube.
Rahane last played a Test during India's 2023 tour of the Caribbean and isn't part of the selectors' plans - he's not part of the annual retainers' list released by the BCCI. But with a busy Test season coming up, which includes a tour of Australia, where he led India to a historic triumph three years ago, he will have an incentive to keep knocking on the doors.
He led Mumbai to their 42nd Ranji Trophy title earlier this year, but his own contributions were modest - 214 runs in 13 innings at an average of 17.83 with just two half-centuries. He followed that up with a poor IPL, where he managed just 242 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 123.46.
So far, Rahane has struck two match-winning half-centuries for Leicestershire in the one-day competition. Batting at No. 4, he built on twin-half-century stands to make a 60-ball 71 in Leicestershire's 369 for 6 in his first outing in the last week of July. His most recent innings on Sunday was a 57-ball 68 in Leicestershire's 363 for 7 against Sussex.
Iyer was in the middle of his honeymoon in the UK when he received a call from Lancashire for a month-long stint prior to the start of India's domestic season. Iyer made a quick dash back home to sort out his paperwork - he needed to get a sports visa - before returning to England. He has made scores of 15 and 4 in his two outings so far in the One-Day Cup. Prior to the county stint, Iyer played several critical knocks for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during their run to the IPL 2024 title. Most notably, he struck match-winning half-centuries in both the first qualifier and the final.
Iyer hasn't featured for India since the home T20Is against Sri Lanka in February 2022 but remains on the fringes as a top-order batter who can bowl seam-ups. He went through the entire 2022-23 season without bowling after breaking his ankle when he fell down the stairs of his team hotel during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but has since recovered following extensive rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and hopes to push for a national recall during India's home season that begins with the Duleep Trophy next month.
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