The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced the India ‘A’ squad for the upcoming tour of England.
The India ‘A’ team will play three matches before the senior India team plays the first Test against England, which is scheduled to begin June 20 at Leeds.
The India A team will play two matches against the England Lions before playing an intra-squad match, which will likely also comprise the senior team members.
India A will play England Lions at Canterbury and Northampton before moving to Beckenham for the intra squad game.
The three games will be closely watched by team India’s thinktank as there are many key spots in the team that need filling.
Stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma recently retired from the Test team, which opens up at least two spots in the top order.
Abhimanyu Easwaran, who captains the India ‘A’ squad, will be eager to put on a good show as he is in contention for a top-order spot in the senior India team.
He has been a top performer in the domestic circuit and stands a good chance to bag a place.
Another India hopeful who will be looking to bag a place, albeit in the form of a return, will be Karun Nair. The Delhi Capitals batsman has had a stellar few years in domestic cricket and many have called for his return to the team.
Nair could potentially replace the vacant number 4 spot, which was Kohli’s for well over a decade.
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.
India A squad:
Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey
