India A's strongest playing XI for the England tour ft. Nitish Kumar Reddy & Dhruv Jurel
India A are all set to play three tour games, including one clash against the senior side, on their upcoming tour of England. The first encounter is scheduled to commence at the end of May, with the BCCI recently announcing a squad for all the fixtures.
India A will have a battery of pacers to choose from, with many of their batters expected to play central roles in the high-profile Test series. Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead the squad, with Dhruv Jurel announced as his deputy.
India A squad for the tour of England: Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (vice-captain & 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, Shubman Gill* and Sai Sudharsan*. [* - from second match onwards].
On that note, here is India A's strongest playing XI for the tour of England.
Openers: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal
Abhimanyu Easwaran and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the straightforward contenders to open the batting for India A in England. There are limited top-order options in the squad, and as captain and established Test opener respectively, they are bound to take first strike.
Middle Order: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy
Sai Sudharsan has been earmarked as someone who can slot in at No. 3 for the senior team, and donning the hat for the A side will be a logical first step. He's only expected to join the squad for the second game, so Karun Nair could take up the role in the opening encounter.
Shubman Gill's name is doing the rounds when it comes to the Test captaincy, and moving to No. 4 or No. 5 could do his cause a world of good. Like Sai Sudharsan, he will only be available from the second match, so Ruturaj Gaikwad could take his place in the side at the start of the tour.
Vice-captain Dhruv Jurel will be the first-choice keeper, with the experienced Sarfaraz Khan likely to take up a role in the middle order. Pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy could have a lot to offer in England and should have a key role to play in the A tour.
Lower Order: Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Anshul Kamboj, Akash Deep
After a sensational Ranji Trophy campaign, it'll be hard to look past Shardul Thakur. Akash Deep has been in and around the first-choice pacers in the Test team and should be preferred ahead of the likes of Khaleel Ahmed and Tushar Deshpande.
The final seam slot could be a shootout between the Test capped Harshit Rana and Anshul Kamboj. Kamboj, by virtue of his accuracy and ability to move the ball in both directions, could be the better pick.
Tanush Kotian, too, had a good Ranji outing for Mumbai. The off-spinning all-rounder should be ahead of Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar in the pecking order, although a left-arm spinner in the ranks wouldn't be the worst idea.