Ajinkya Rahane has been named the India A captain for the first three one-dayers of a five-match series against the visiting England Lions. Rituraj Gaekwad and Jayant Yadav also find a spot in the the 15-man squad announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The one-dayers begin on January 23. All five matches will be held in Thiruvananthapuram.

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Ankit Bawne has been chosen as captain in the 15-man squad selected for the final two one-dayers. Ricky Bhui, Siddhesh Lad, Himmat Singh, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Chahar and Avesh Khan are the entrants to the squad, for these matches.

The BCCI has also named the Board President’s XI team for a two-day warm-up game against England Lions to be held on February 3. Ishan Kishan, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper, will be the captain.

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Ishan Kishan (left) and Ajinkya Rahane, both part of the India A one-day squad, helped India C clinch the Deodhar Trophy in October, 2018. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

 

Players from the States of Karnataka, Vidarbha, Kerala and Saurashtra have not been selected as they will be required to participate in the Ranji Trophy semifinals, which begin on January 24.

The India A one-day team, led by Manish Pandey, had a successful tour of New Zealand in November-December, 2018. It defeated New Zealand A in all the three matches it played.

The England Lions will also play India in a two-match unofficial Test series, which begins on February 7.