Change in venue for the 1st unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A

The venue for the first game of the 2-match unofficial Test series between India A and South Africa A will be the LC de Villiers Oval ground in Pretoria, also known as Tuks Oval. The game starting on August 12 was slated to be played at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni but as the venue is undergoing upgrades, it has been decided to move the game.

The LC de Villiers Oval has hosted 5 games out of the 7 matches in the recently concluded ‘A’ Team Triangular series including the final, which involved Afghanistan A, India A and the hosts South Africa A. Willowmoore Park, the actual venue for the 1st unofficial Test is currently facing logistical issues regarding the upgrade in the venue. These changes are made in the view of the upcoming inaugural edition of the T20 Global League.

Benoni will be one of the 8 franchises that will be a part of the 1st edition of the T20 Global League. The franchise has been taken up by Zaved Afridi, the owner of the Peshawar Zalmi team in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The star South African wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock representing as the marquee player for this franchise named ‘Benoni Zalmi’.

Bright youngsters in India A

Karun Nair will be leading the India A squad for these 4-day games which includes the recent sensations Mohammed Siraj and Ishan Kishan and also the consistent performers in the Ranji Trophy Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Nadeem and Shardul Thakur. The all-rounders Vijay Shankar and K Gowtham were included in the squad after Priyank Panchal due to Dengue fever and Jayant Yadav due to personal reasons missed out from the original squad.

The home side will be captained by Aiden Markram, who was part of the South African Test squad in England but didn’t get a chance to make his debut. Their side contains Stephen Cook, Dane Piedt and David Miller who look to make an impression for Test call-ups given the Proteas’ below average performance in the recent series in England.