On Friday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India A squad for the upcoming one-day series against New Zealand A. The three-game ODI series will be played at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on September 22, 25, and 27 respectively. Interestingly, the Indian A side will be led by keeper-batter Sanju Samson.
Yes, you read that right. Sanju Samson has been in and out of the Indian set-up over the last few years, however, due to a lack of consistency he has failed to cement his place in the Indian squad. He was recently ignored by the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. Samson has been in the scheme of things for the ODI format and better performance in the upcoming series against the New Zealand A side might help push his case for a spot in the Indian team after the T20 World Cup.
Talking about the squad, Prithvi Shaw has made his return for the Indian side. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi, who was benched for most of the part in the recent assignments for India, have earned their places in India A squad. Young cricketer Raj Bawa has also been included in the India A side in order to build a olid backup option for Hardik Pandya in the future. Rajat Patidar, who impressed one and all with his performances in the Indian Premier League and domestic fixtures, has also been while KS Bharat will be the second wicketkeeper-batter in the squad.
In the bowling department, while Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar, and Shahbaz Ahmed will handle the spin department, on the other hand, Umran Malik and Kuldeep Sen will be taking care of the pace departments.
India A squad:
Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar, Sanju Samson (Captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Chahar, Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Sen, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Navdeep Saini, Raj Angad Bawa
