Naman Ojha to lead India A on tour of Australia

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced the 15-man India A squad for the tour of Australia later this year. Wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha has been named the skipper of the team which also includes 9 players from the Indian squad that toured Zimbabwe earlier this month.

India A will play two four-day matches against Australia A after the quadrangular series which also includes South Africa A and Cricket Australia’s National Performance Squad (NPS).

The limited overs tour of Zimbabwe gave the selectors a perfect opportunity to give top performers a firsthand experience of international cricket. While most of them made their debuts at various instances a few flew back from the bench. Faiz Fazal, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat and Barinder Sran are the members of the Indian team led by MS Dhoni who have been picked for the tour of Australia with the junior team.

Domestic players have also been rewarded for their consistent performances in the Ranji Trophy with a call-up for the Indian team. Three Mumbai players’ top-order batting mainstay Shreyas Iyer, opener Akhil Herwadkar and pacer Dhawal Kulkarni are a part of the India A squad.

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Rahul Dravid who earlier denied taking up the role of the India senior team’s coach will lead the team on the tour with his emphasis continuing to be on grooming the next generation of Indian cricketers.

India A squad for Australia tour – Naman Ojha (captain), Faiz Fazal, Akhil Herwadkar, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Barinder Sran, Shahbaz Nadeem, Sanju Samson.

Fixtures:

One-day Series:

13 August, South Africa A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

14 August, Australia A v India A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

16 August, Australia A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

17 August, South Africa A v India A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

20 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

21 August, India A v NPS, Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville

24 August, NPS v Australia A, Harrup Park, Mackay

25 August, South Africa A v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay

27 August, NPS v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay

28 August, Australia A v South Africa A, Harrup Park, Mackay

30 August, Australia A v India A, Harrup Park, Mackay

31 August, South Africa A v NPS, Harrup Park, Mackay

3 September; Final 3 v 4, Harrup Park, Mackay

4 September, Final 1 v 2, Harrup Park, Mackay

Four-day matches:

8-11 September, Australia A v India A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane

15-18 September, Australia A v India A, Allan Border Field, Brisbane