Northampton: K L Rahul would look to make the most of his first red-ball outing in months ahead of the Test series against England while the fringe players will be desperate for impactful performances when India A face England Lions in their second and final unofficial Test beginning here on Friday.
With major parts of India enduring monsoon, Rahul decided to leave for UK before the main Test squad to train for the five-match series beginning on June 20. The Shubman Gill-led India squad will depart from Mumbai late on Friday.
Rahul, who has had reasonable success in England including two hundreds, is the senior-most batter in the Test squad following the high-profile retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Though he averages an underwhelming 33.57 in 58 Tests, most of his success in the traditional format has come at the top of the order. It remains to be seen if he continues to open or bats down the order.
Even the likes of Gill and Sai Sudharsan were expected to play the second four-day game but their IPL commitments did not allow them. The duo would only get the intra-squad game to acclimatise before the first Test in Leeds.
As many as six players from the Test squad took part in the first game against England Lions that ended in a drab draw on a docile pitch where mounts of runs were scored by both teams.
Pacer Akash Deep, who did not play in Canterbury, is likely to feature here.
With the top three of Yashavi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair being among the runs in the tour-opener, there is a possibility that the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan would be tried in the middle.
Nair, fresh off a double century, was able to make the quick switch from white-ball to red-ball cricket and it would be tough to ignore him for the Test series opener. Rahul, who too is good at leaving the ball, would look to tighten up his game over the possible two innings he would get in the game.
There will be a toss-up between Shardul Thakur and Nitish Reddy for the fast bowling all-rounder’s slot. Both played in Canterbury but it was Thakur who bowled more than Reddy. The latter did not roll his arm over for the majority of the IPL due to fitness issues.
If another flat surface is offered, it may not be ideal preparation for Rahul and Co. for the tougher battles that lie ahead.
In the England Lions squad, pacers Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes would look to make an impact after being named in England’s main squad for the first Test.
With their main pace guns Mark Wood and Jofra Archer doubtful for the India series due to injuries, England’s fast bowling options appear to be scarce. Gus Atkinson has been ruled out of the series opener.
One of three centurions for England Lions in Canterbury, Dan Mousley, has been released from the squad to play in T20 blast alongside Zaman Akhter and Henry Crocombe.
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.
England Lions squad: James Rew (capt & wk), Farhan Ahmed, Jordan Cox, Rocky Flintoff, Emilio Gay, Tom Haines, George Hill, Max Holden, Ben McKinney, Eddie Jack, Ajeet Singh Dale, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
Match starts 3.30 IST.
