The BCCI senior men’s selection committee, headed by chairman Ajit Agarkar, announced a 13-member India A squad for the red-ball home series against England Lions. The tour will kick off with a two-day warm-up game starting on January 12 at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground ‘B’ in Ahmedabad. The first four-day match, beginning on January 17, will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
BCCI Announced India A Squad For England Series
“The Men’s Selection Committee named a 13-member India ‘A’ squad for a 2-day warm-up fixture & the first multi-day match against England Lions. India ‘A’ will play a total of 3 multi-day matches in the tour,” BCCI said in a release.
Bengal cricketer Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was part of the Indian Test side for the South Africa tour, has been named captain for the India A squad. The team includes players like Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, and Pradosh Paul, all aiming to establish themselves in the middle-order of the Indian Test side. Sudharsan and Patidar made their ODI debuts in South Africa, while Pradosh had a notable performance for India A in the red-ball match against South Africa A.
Following a disappointing performance in South Africa, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer will face scrutiny.
Navdeep Saini and Akash Deep will spearhead the pace department. Akash Deep, who was included in India’s ODI squad during the South Africa series, has been on the periphery. The competition for the third seamer’s position will involve Karnataka’s Vidwath Kaverappa and seasoned Mumbai pacer Tushar Deshpande.
Young Rajasthan left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who impressed in the last domestic season and the emerging players’ tournament, aims to catch the selectors’ attention.
India A squad for the Warm-up game and first four-Day match against England Lions:
Easwaran (Captain), Sudharsan, Patidar, Sarfaraz, Pradosh Ranjan, Bharat (WK), Suthar, Pulkit Narang, Saini, Deshpande, Kaverappa, Jurel (WK), Akash Deep pic.twitter.com/JKjCacIwPh
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The India A and England Lions series is planned as a parallel tour to England’s five-match series against India, starting from January 25.
Considering the demands of a five-match Test series, the players know that a strong performance in this series could enhance their chances of breaking into the senior team.
However, the timing of these two matches poses a challenge as they coincide with the second and third rounds of the ongoing Ranji Trophy, which began on Friday.
India A Squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, KS Bharat (WK), Manav Suthar, Pulkit Narang, Navdeep Saini, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Akash Deep
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