India A will tour England for two matches | Courtesy – AP/BCCI
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- India ‘A’ will tour England for two matches
- Ruturaj Gaikwad led the ‘A’ team in Australia
- The Pataudi Trophy will start from June 20
Ahead of India’s five-match Test series against England from June 20, the Indian ‘A’ team will tour the country and play two first-class matches from May 30 at the Spitfire Ground, St. Lawrence in Canterbury. The second four-day game will take place from June 6 at the County Ground in Northampton.
The same report suggests that several leading players could be part of the travelling squad for the shadow tour. However, it is worth noting that there is a gap of just five days between the first Test and the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) final. With the main team set to spend almost two months in England for the Pataudi Trophy, senior players are likely to be rested.
To ensure workload management, none of the senior pacers are likely to be part of the ‘A’ tour. The pace could consist of emerging contenders like Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and Harshit Rana. The all-round duo of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar are also set to be a part of the series after playing a key role in the Australia series.
The England tour will be India’s first full series after Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement and the spin department will see new faces in England. While Kuldeep Yadav are Ravindra Jadeja are set to tour with the main squad, the ‘A’ team could see the likes of Tanush Kotian, Sai Kishore, and Manav Suthar get a chance to prove themselves.
Ruturaj Gaikwad led the ‘A’ team in Australia and there is unlikely to be a change in leadership unless Gill is making the tour. Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Dhruv Jurel have played Test cricket recently and should get another chance. Sai Sudharshan is not far from a debut and could stake a claim in England. Abhimanyu Easwaran remains a curious case but he should continue getting chances in the main team.
Shreyas Iyer has impressed in ODI cricket and domestic cricket over the year and it will be surprising if he does not return to the red-ball scheme of things for India.
Dhruv Jurel and Ishan Kishan were two wicket-keeper batters in Australia for the ‘A’ team and the status quo should be kept.
A few players could be picked for just one game, depending on which teams reach the playoffs. India has opted to pick large squads and rotate them on ‘A’ tours in the past, and that could be the case this time around too which will mean a large travelling party.
