Test regulars in India A squad to get used to England conditions

NEW DELHI: With the Indian team set to go through a major transition, the selection committee on Friday named a host of regular Test players in the India A team for the tour of England, which precedes the five-Test tour starting next month. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana and Sarfaraz Khan have been picked for the series that starts on May 26. In a big development, the selectors have asked Shubman Gill to join the A team for the second unofficial Test that starts on June 6. Karun Nair, on the back of a stellar domestic season, has been picked after eight years and will be on trial for the Test series. This England tour will be the first one for all these players. Gill, who is in contention for Test captaincy, has played a couple of Test matches in England wasn’t able to perform well. Sai Sudharsan, who is also likely to be picked in the Test team, will also join the A team for the second match. Both Gill and Sudharsan will be leading Gujarat Titans’ charge in the IPL playoffs. Teams of rest of the players, barring Nair, have been knocked out of IPL. While Ishan Kishan has been picked, it is unlikely he will start as Jurel has been named as the vice-captain. Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named the captain since he is expected to play the entire series. Rana and Akash struggled to find their lengths in Australia in Nov-Dec since they had limited exposure to the conditions. The selectors have ensured that they get enough game time to get adjusted to English conditions. Pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj are seen as red-ball prospects. However, Khaleel faces stiff competition from Arshdeep Singh and Yash Dayal. 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 Note: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.