Yuvraj selected for India A against England

The double century on return to first-class cricket has fetched Yuvraj Singh a place in the India-A side, which will face England in a warm-up match from October 30. The side will be led by Suresh Raina.

The new crop of selectors, in their first formal meeting since being appointed, have made some interesting moves. The side to play England will not feature a single spinner. This decision reflects India’s reluctance to provide England any exposure to their biggest threat in the subcontinent.

The batting department consists of 9 specialist batsmen – Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwari, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund, Robin Bist, and Ashok Menaria. Rohit Sharma was left out of the squad – a clear indication to the young Mumbai batsman, to pull up his socks and perform at domestic level. Yuvraj Singh returned to competitive cricket after a nine-month break due to a rare germ-cell cancer in September. On 14th October, he hit 208 for North Zone against Central Zone in the semifinal of the Duleep Trophy, in his return to first-class cricket.

Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan have been consistent performers in the domestic arena and have been rewarded with the spot in the A-side. Robin Bist was the highest scorer in the previous Ranji season (1034 runs at an average of 86.16 with 4 100s and 4 50s). Ashok Menaria had good performance to show in India-A’s tour to New Zealand recently.

Wriddhiman Saha was selected as the wicketkeeper.

The bowling line-up includes Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda, Vinay Kumar and Parvinder Awana.

Squad: Suresh Raina (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwari, Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Abhinav Mukund, Robin Bist, Ashok Menaria, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda, Vinay Kumar, Parvinder Awana.