Indian senior team coach Gautam Gambhir is likely to accompany India A in early June
India are set to begin their preparations for the five-match Test series against England with a shadow tour of India ‘A’ in early June.
According to a report by Indian Express, India ‘A’ are set to play a four-day game against England tentatively beginning on June 4 which will be followed by an intra-squad match and then a second game against the Lions.
The first Test at Headingley, set to be played from June 20-24, will mark the beginning of India’s World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. The tour is set to conclude with the fifth Test at The Oval from July 31 to August 4.
An earlier report claimed that senior team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir is set to personally oversee India A’s shadow tour which also raises the probability of star players playing against England Lions.
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India A usually consists of top performers in the domestic circuit or players who are the back-ups for key positions in the main squad.
Recently ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, performances of Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna and Tanush Kotian in the India ‘A’ series against Australia XI earned them a call while Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran found a place in the squad as back-up options. While others weren’t picked in the playing XI, Prasidh played the final Test in Sydney and claimed six wickets.
India will have a three-week window to prepare for the England series with the Indian Premier League (IPL) final scheduled for May 25.
While there is no predicting who will be injured once IPL 2025 concludes, there is plenty of competition for places in the India A side after the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season. Karun Nair, who has been sidelined from the national team since 2017, is easily among the frontrunners for a spot in the team after a stupendous season scoring 863 runs from 16 innings for Ranji champions Vidarbha. The former Karnataka batter sent records tumblings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a jaw-dropping 779 runs from just eight matches at a ridiculous average of 389.6.
Mumbai allrounder Shardul Thakur also made a strong case for his return to the Indian side with a total of 505 runs from 12 innings and 35 wickets from 18 innings, starring in his team’s run into the semifinals. Thakur has also signed on for county side Essex after going unsold in the IPL auction.
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