NEW DELHI: The performances of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Prasidh Krishna will be crucial in India A’s four-day match against Australia A starting Thursday. These players are part of India’s squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series beginning November 22.
Easwaran stands out as a potential replacement for captain Rohit Sharma if he misses any matches due to personal reasons. The 29-year-old opener has significant experience with 99 First-Class matches, scoring 7,638 runs, including 27 hundreds and 29 fifties. Easwaran’s recent form in domestic tournaments like the Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy has been impressive, making him feel confident ahead of the Australia A match.
On the other hand, Nitish Kumar Reddy is seen more for his potential as a pace-bowling all-rounder, although his batting is stronger. In the Duleep Trophy, he had modest performance, scoring two ducks and a highest score of 40, while taking just two wickets.
Prasidh Krishna, recently added to the India A squad, aims to find rhythm after an injury. His height could be advantageous on Australian pitches. He needs to be ready if called upon as the third seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj or for workload management.
Ruturaj Gaikwad leads India A, featuring players like Sai Sudharsan, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, and Devdutt Padikkal, providing them an opportunity to impress selectors.
Ishan Kishan, the wicketkeeper batter, also looks forward to making the most of this chance.
India A: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-capt), Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna.
Australia A: Nathan McSweeney (c), Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Jordan Buckingham, Cooper Connolly, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Michael Neser, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Jimmy Peirson, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Beau Webster.