Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan and pacer Deepak Chahar are set to join India A squad for their upcoming tour of South Africa. India A will play an unofficial 4-day Test Series against South Africa A starting from November 23 in Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
Ishan Kishan and Chahar: Will they impress in overseas conditions?
Both Kishan and Chahar were part of the T20 series win against the Blackcaps on home soil. Chahar managed to take only 3 scalps in the 3 match series. But his quickfire 21* off 8 balls in the last T20 was instrumental in the clean sweep against the Kiwis. Ishan only got to play the 3rd T20 replacing KL Rahul. He scored 21 runs at a decent strike rate and pulled off two stunning runouts of Tim Seifert and Mitchell Santner.
The initial squad for the South Africa tour had only one wicket-keeper in the form of Railways cricketer Upendra Yadav. Ishan Kishan thus strengthens that department and might even be the first choice to don the gloves.
The exact reasons behind Chahar’s inclusion are still unknown. The BCCI might be interested to see his performance in South Africa considering his prowess to swing the ball. South Africa has always been a heaven for fast bowlers. It will be quite interesting to see how well can the likes of Porel and Saini benefit from these conditions.
Ind A vs RSA A: Big opportunity before a big tour
The senior team will also tour South Africa after their test series against New Zealand. Virat Kohli will surely eye for another series victory on foreign soil. Hence India A tour might be an audition for the players who are keen to seal their spots in the touring squad.
Moreover, India A squad also has players like Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari and Abhimanyu Easwaran. It will be exciting to see IPL sensation Umran Malik click 150 kmph with the red ball in the land of Allan Donald and Dale Steyn. As per reports, medium-pacer Shardul Thakur may also join the squad later on.
Formidable India A squad against Inexperienced South Africa A?
The India A side will be led by Gujarat batter Priyank Panchal. Shitanshu Kotak will serve as the Head Coach. Meanwhile, the support staff comprises Sairaj Bahutule as the bowling coach and T Ghosh as the fielding coach alongside physio Tulsi Ram from NCA.
South Africa A, led by Pieter Malan, are a much-inexperienced side compared to their Indian counterparts. However, they will definitely hope to be hostile hosts in their backyard.
India A squad: Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar
South Africa squad: Pieter Malan (captain), Sarel Erwee, Dominic Hendricks, Raynard van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusammy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi.
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