Preview: Sarfaraz, Kuldeep in focus as India A takes on New Zealand A in first unofficial Test
Sarfaraz Khan will be aiming to build on his stupendous domestic performances when he takes strike for India A in the first unofficial Test against New Zealand A at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from Thursday.
The New Zealand A side comprises at least half a dozen players who have represented the senior national team in some format over the years and would give competition to the home team.
Most of the players in the Indian squad are the ones who played an A series in South Africa late last year and would like to consolidate their positions in the Test team’s pecking order.
But no one would get the kind of traction that Sarfaraz is supposed to as he is back at the same venue where he scored a century in the Ranji Trophy final a couple of months ago.
The chosen ones are either proven domestic performers or the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, who would like to get his mojo back having missed out on the red-ball domestic season last time.
The attention on the burly Mumbaikar would be much more because after a near 1000-run Ranji Trophy season, he is literally knocking on the senior national team’s doors. A strong indication of that has been given by the selectors, who decided to drop Hanuma Vihari from the India A side, and he will be playing the Duleep Trophy for South Zone, like Shreyas Iyer for the West Zone.
It can be said with some degree of certainty that the national selection committee is still not sanguine about whether Vihari and Iyer are long-term solutions for India’s middle-order problems, with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane set to be phased out in the coming times.
When will the India A vs New Zealand A match be played?
The IND-A vs NZ-A 1st Unofficial Test will be played from September 1-4.
Where will the India A vs New Zealand A match be played?
The IND-A vs NZ-A 1st Unofficial Test will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru
What time will the India A vs New Zealand A match start?
The IND-A vs NZ-A match will start at 10:00 AM IST.
Live Streaming Info of India A vs New Zealand A match Online
Live Streaming option for the IND-A vs NZ-A 1st unofficial Test match isn’t available.
Where can we watch the live telecast of India A vs New Zealand A match?
There will not be any telecast for the IND-A vs NZ-A 1st unofficial Test match.
Squads
India A Squad: Priyank Panchal (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Srikar Bharat, Upendra Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal, Arzan Nagwaswalla
New Zealand A Squad: Tom Bruce (c), Robert ODonnell, Chad Bowes, Joe Carter, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Cam Fletcher, Ben Lister, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Rippon, Sean Solia, Logan van Beek, Joe Walker
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