Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan will headline the India A squad for the first unofficial Test against England Lions starting on May 30. With the IPL play-offs running simultaneously and the final slotted for June 3, The Indian Express understands that the national selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar has picked a 14-member squad for the first match, including players whose involvement in the T20 league ended in the league stage.
Other than Jaiswal and Kishan, other players expected to take the flight to UK by the end of this month include , Reddy, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel, Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Akash Deep, , Anshul Kamboj and Manav Suthar. It is understood that Sarfaraz Khan, who isn’t part of any team, will not travel with the first batch of the India A squad and instead head to UK alongwith the Test squad. Rajat Patidar, nursing a finger injury, is unlikely to make the cut for the England tour.
After the first ‘Test’, the plan is to send the likes of , Sai Sudharsan and for the second A fixture. India are scheduled to play an intra-squad match as preparation before the first Test against England. It remains to be seen whether it would be played over three days or four. The game is understood to be played behind closed doors without any live coverage.
The performances in these three matches will hold plenty of significance with two slots now vacant in the first XI following the retirements of and . In the case of Easwaran, the England trip is significant as he has been on the fringe for nearly seven years now. He was part of India’s tour to England in 2021, but returned without playing a game. And even on the last tour of Australia, he was part of the squad as a reserve opener as his wait for a Test debut grew longer.
Easwaran, one of the prolific scorers on the domestic circuit as well as for India A, now faces competition with 23-year-old B Sai Sudharsan also vying for a spot in the top three. As a result, the A team fixtures could well become an audition for a place in the Test XI.
These matches will also be an opportunity for Nair to make a strong case for his inclusion in the Test squad. In 2018, he was part of the Test squad, but never got to play a game with the then team management under Ravi Shastri even preferring Hanuma Vihari over him. This time with Kohli not around, and Nair being not just an in-form batsman but also vaing international experience under his belt, he could be in the reckoning if he scores in these matches.
Kamboj – the dark horse
As far as the pace department is concerned, with , and unlikely to feature in all five Tests, India are planning to rotate their pack which will also include Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna. Among the outsiders, Haryana’s Anshul Kamboj stands a good chance of making the cut as he is known not just to make the ball seam both ways but is also capable of bowling long spells.
Though the series will take place in early summer, pitches in County cricket of late have been full of runs. Moreover, since the advent of Bazball, England have mostly preferred to play Tests on flat decks. In such conditions, India are aware of the challenges for their bowling unit. Given Bumrah, Shami and Siraj are all strike bowlers who mostly operate on an attacking line and length, the think tank is on the lookout for a seamer who could hold one end up, which did exceedingly well on the last two tours.
Kamboj, with his skillset to make the new ball move both ways and ability to bowl long spells, is seen as a similar asset who could complement this attack. His teammate Khaleel Ahmed can also play a similar role and, being a left-armer, provides variety that this team lacks.
On the spin bowling side, with , and Washington around, India are not in urgent need but will use the tour to groom Suthar and Kotian. Suthar, a left-arm spinner, is already earmarked as a player who could fill the shoes of Jadeja, when the latter moves on. Kotian, with his all-round skills for , has shown enough potential to be considered an option for the long format.
