Hyderabad: The focus will be on all-rounder Hardik Pandya, off-spinner Jayant Yadav and opener Abhinav Mukund as India ‘A’ take on Bangladesh XI in a two-day warm-up game starting here at the Gymkhana ground on Sunday.
As the trio are part of the Test squad that would take on the visitors again in the one-off Test, it would be crucial for them to impress the team management. Pandya was part of the squad for the England Test series, but he couldn’t earn his maiden cap and was sidelined with a shoulder bruise before the Mohali Test. He, however, recovered to play the limited-overs series.
Jayant, who made his Test debut in the Vizag Test and scored a brilliant century against England in Mumbai, had missed out on the final match in Chennai owing to a hamstring injury. He returned to action in the North Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali.
For Abhinav, who will lead the side, it’s an opportunity for him to stake his claim as an opener. The left-handed batsman from Tamil Nadu has been in fine form as he scored 849 runs at an average of 65.30 in the Ranji Trophy.
However, Abhinav’s chances of making it to the playing XI will only depend on the fitness of K.L. Rahul and Murali Vijay. A good knock after a satisfying Ranji season will keep the openers on toes and he can also stake claim for third opener’s slot when Australia come calling.
Having played white ball cricket (Syed Mushtaq Ali and England series) for sometime, all three would be eager to get some good game time.
Ranji Trophy’s top run-getter Priyank Panchal will have his first brush against an international attack as he will be facing the likes of Taskin Ahmed, Shakib Al Hasan. The much talked about duo of youngsters — Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant — will also be seen in action. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem will get a chance to test his skills against the likes of Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Mominul Haque.
Another interesting aspect will be what kind of performance the two left-arm seamers Aniket Chaudhary and Chama Milind put up. Post Zaheer Khan’s retirement, India is searching for a left-arm pacer across all formats. While veteran Ashish Nehra is still doing it in shortest format, it is the five-day games where they would want some variations.
