Convert the sentence "Veer said, \"I was playing football\"" into indirect speech by choosing the correct option.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests reported speech, also called indirect speech. The original sentence is in the past continuous tense, and the reporting verb "said" is in the simple past. You must apply the rules for changing direct speech to indirect speech, including tense backshifting and removal of quotation marks.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Direct speech: "Veer said, \"I was playing football\"."
• Reporting verb: "said" (simple past).
• Reported clause: "I was playing football" (first person, past continuous).
• No specific time reference in the original, so standard backshift rules apply.

Concept / Approach:
The key rules are:

• When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb in the reported clause is usually shifted one step back in time.
• Past continuous often changes to past perfect continuous in indirect speech.
• First person pronouns like "I" change according to the subject of the reporting verb, here "Veer".
• Quotation marks are removed and a conjunction such as "that" is added.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the original tense: "was playing" is past continuous. Step 2: Because "said" is in the past and no time marker fixes the time, we apply tense backshift: past continuous becomes past perfect continuous. Step 3: Past perfect continuous form of "play" is "had been playing". Step 4: Change the pronoun "I" to "he", since the speaker Veer is male and is being referred to in the third person. Step 5: Introduce the reported clause with "that". The sentence becomes: "Veer said that he had been playing football."

Verification / Alternative check:
Now examine the options:

• Option A: "Veer said he had been playing football." This is almost correct but omits "that". In many contexts it is acceptable, but exam patterns usually prefer explicit "that".
• Option B: "Veer said he was playing football." This keeps the verb in past continuous, ignoring the standard backshift rule.
• Option C: "Veer said that, that he was playing football." This is grammatically incorrect and includes an extra "that".
• Option D: "Veer said that he had been playing football." This follows all the rules correctly.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option A: Acceptable in informal usage but does not match the strict rule that the exam wants, especially the explicit use of "that".
• Option B: Fails to backshift the tense, which is usually required when the reporting verb is in past tense.
• Option C: Contains a punctuation and repetition error and is not idiomatic English.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes forget to change the continuous tense to the perfect continuous. Another typical error is to leave the pronoun unchanged ("I") instead of converting it to "he" or "she". Building a habit of checking person, tense, and word order in each reported speech question can help avoid these mistakes.

Final Answer:
The correct indirect speech form is Veer said that he had been playing football.