MUMBAI, India, CMC – Out-of-favour Test batsman Wriddhiman Saha and rising star Rishabh Pant will both feature on India A’s tour of the Caribbean which bowls off in July.
The 34-year-old Saha, who played the last of his 32 Tests nearly a year-and-a-half ago, was named in the 15-man squad for all three four-day “Tests”. He has been kept out of the senior side through a series of injuries.
Batsman Shreyas Iyer, who has played six One-Day Internationals, will lead the “Test” squad, which also includes exciting 19-year-old opener Prithvi Shaw, whose only two Tests came against West Indies last year and yielded a maiden hundred.
However, Shaw will only feature in the third and final “Test”
Pant, meanwhile, who was surprisingly omitted from India’s World Cup squad, will be a part of the tourists’ 15-man squad for the five one-day matches. The 21-year-old has played nine Tests and averages nearly 50 with two hundreds.
The one-day squad will be led by batsman Manish Pandey and includes Shaw and Iyer.
India A’s series will precede the senior team’s tour of the Caribbean which is expected to begin in August and comprise two Tests, three One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.
The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) said yesterday Antigua will host the five one-dayers from July 11-21, with Coolidge Cricket Ground and the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground serving as venues.
The Vivian Richards Cricket Ground will also host the first “Test” from July 24-27 before the series moves to Trinidad where the second “Test” will be played at Queen’s Park Oval from July 31 to August 3 and the third “Test” at the Brian Lara Stadium starting August 6.
SQUADS:
ONE-DAY: Manish Pandey (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishab Pant (w), Rahul Chahar, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan
1st “Test”: Shreyas Iyer (captain), PK Panchal, AR Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Shivam Dube, Wriddhiman Saha (w), KS Bharat (w), K Gowtham, S Nadeem, Mayank Markande, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan
2nd & 3rd Test: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (w), KS Bharat (w), Shivam Dube, Mayank Markande, K Gowtham, S Nadeem, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan