BENGALURU: In the past, the India ‘A’ series were perceived as an opportunity for out-of-form players to get back in touch.
The number of matches they played too were not many. But the perception changed in 2015, when Rahul Dravid was roped in as India U-19 and India ‘A’ coach.
With Dravid joining the backroom set-up, India ‘A’ team turned into a development squad and a platform to groom bench strength. Up until Covid-19 struck, the fixtures – both home and away—for the India ‘A’ team were plenty and players like Shubham Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuman Vihari, Prithvi Shaw, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini have honed their skills on this platform. With the onset of Covid-19 in 2020, the number of the ‘A’ matches in India dwindled. The last time India hosted a ‘A’ series was against South Africa in August-September 2019.
Come Thursday, it will mark the India ‘A’ team’s maiden outing this year. The last they played was in an away series against South Africa in December last year.
The three-match red-ball series, will be followed by an equal number of one-dayers and will be the beginning of what will be a hectic season of Indian cricket. The team, led by Priyank Panchal, is the coming together of some of the star performers of Ranji Trophy. While Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar of Madhya Pradesh made the cut on the might of the runs they scored in the premier red-ball tournament, pacer Prasidh Krishna, who until now has been preferred in the white ball format for the country, will be tested in the longer format. The Karnataka pacer was also a part of the team which travelled to South Africa last year.
New Zealand, have travelled with seven players with international caps and are looking to test some of their domestic performers in overseas conditions.
On Tuesday, both teams had lengthy net sessions with coaches Shitanshu Kotak and Sairaj Bahutule overseeing India’s preparations.