New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS): Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named as the captain of the India ‘A’ team for the two-day warm-up fixture & first multi-day game against England Lions to be held later this month. India ‘A’ will play a total of 3 multi-day matches in the tour.
Easwaran, the prolific red-ball opener for Bengal, had recently been a member of the India Test team which drew the two-match series in South Africa, after being drafted in as a replacement for injured Ruturaj Gaikwad.
He had also captained India ‘A’ in their last four-day match against South Africa ‘A’ at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni last month, where he scored 18. A regular with the India ‘A’ side, Easwaran was named as one of five standby players in India's Test squad for their home series against England in 2021.
He was also named as one of four standby players in India's Test squad for the final of the 2021 ICC World Test Championship and for the team’s away series against England later in that year. Easwaran had scored 6585 runs in 89 first-class matches at an average of 47.03, including 22 centuries and 26 half-centuries.
The 13-member squad also includes left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan, who struck two fifties in his ODI debut series against South Africa last month, as well as Rajat Patidar, who was handed his first ODI cap in the final ODI at Paarl. Wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat and fast-bowler Navdeep Saini are the other capped players in the India ‘A’ team.
Batters Sarfaraz Khan and Pradosh Ranjan Paul, as well as wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, off-spinner Pulkit Narang, and fast-bowling trio of Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa and Akash Deep form the rest of the India ‘A’ squad.
The England Lions matches against India ‘A’ will begin with a two-day warm-up game, starting on January 12 and will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground 'B', Ahmedabad. The first four-day match, commencing on January 17 will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
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