India A vs South Africa A: Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill to share captaincy duties in unofficial Test series

Highly rated and talented batsman Shubman Gill and wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha will share the captaincy when India A take on South Africa A in unofficial Test series starting from September 9th. As of now, Gill is part 0f the India A team that’s facing in a limited-overs series against SA A at Thiruvananthapuram and Saha is sitting out of India’s playing XI in their ongoing Test series against the West Indies as Rishabh Pant is the preferred choice for a wicketkeeper.

The first unofficial Test will be played at Thiruvananthapuram from 10th of September, it will have the KKR batsman captain the side and the second game that will be played at Mysuru would from 17th of September, will have the wicketkeeper-batsman handle the reins. This decision was taken by the selection committee who met at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on Sunday, September 1.

“The Committee has picked two different teams for two games considering the ongoing Duleep Trophy and those members who are likely to feature in the final to be played between India Red and India Green have therefore been picked in the squad for second India A match,” said chief selector MSK Prasad in a statement on Sunday. “Accordingly, Rahul Chahar will be replaced by Mayank Markande in the India Green team and Ishan Kishan will return to the India Red team for Duleep Trophy final.”

Another high profile inclusion in the squads named for the two unofficial Tests is of all-rounder Vijay Shankar. Shankar rose to fame after his consistent performances for his state Tamil Nadu ensured that he became the player to play at the crucial and highly debatable No. 4 position for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. A toe injury sustained mid-way during the tournament meant that he had to fly home early.

The batting all-rounder did make a comeback in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) but again got an injury. So these two four-day games would give him ample time to work on his game and fitness. He should grab this opportunity with both hands and look to impress the national selectors and claw his way back into the Indian ODI and T20I squads.

Squads:

For 1st match: Shubman Gill (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Ankeet Bawne, KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar.

For 2nd match: Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (captain and wicketkeeper), K Gowtham, Kuldeep Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan.

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