Pandya to lead India 'A' in warm-up game vs Australia

All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead the India 'A' side in a three-day warm-up game against Australia at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from February 16-18.

The team comprises of a lot of promising youngsters who have performed in the Ranji Trophy this season including top-scorer Priyank Panchal of Gujarat and Services batsman G Rahul Singh.

The selectors for the second time made it clear that Ishan Kishan is being groomed as the wicketkeeper in the longer format while Rishabh Pant is being looked purely as a batsman in this category.

Maharashtra's Ankit Bawne also picked after his cracking of 351 not out against Delhi which helped him finish the Ranji tournament with a tally of 687 runs.

Some of the players have been picked up purely on the basis of potential like young Delhi speedster Navdeep Saini, who is being spoken highly in Delhi cricket circuit.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj, who recently played for Rest of India has also been named.

Mumbai's young batting duo of Akhil Herwadkar and Shreyas Iyer also get another opportunity to prove their potential against the visiting Australians.

Karnataka off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav are also in the squad along with Ranji Trophy's highest wicket-taker Shahbaz Nadeem of Jharkhand.

The selectors have gone for youth with veteran Bengal speedster Ashok Dinda the only player above 30 years of age in the squad.

India 'A' squad: Hardik Pandya (captain), Akhil Herwadkar, Priyank Kirit Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Ankit Bawne, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan (w/k), Shahbaz Nadeem, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Ashok Dinda, Mohammed Siraj, Rahul Singh, Baba Indrajith.

Image: Hardik Pandya

Photograph: BCCI