The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced India A squads for the second and third multi-day matches against England Lions on Friday. White-ball regulars Rinku Singh and Arshdeep Singh are named in the team with the former only included for the third match starting on February 1.
India are set to host England in the five-match Test series starting on January 25 in Hyderabad. Dhruv Jurel and KS Bharat are both part of the team and are missing the India A squads for the remaining two matches in Ahmedabad.
Bengal star Abimanyu Easwaran continues to lead the team but the Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan is not part of the third multi-day match. Srafaraz's exclusion comes as a big surprise as the middle-order batter is not part of the senior side for the England series despite hitting fifty in the ongoing first practice match on Friday.
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Kumar Kushagra from Jharkhand has received a maiden call-up to the India A squad. The wicketkeeper batter bagged a maiden IPL contract last month as Delhi Capitals spent INR 7.20 crore for the rising youngster.
Kushagra and Uttar Pradesh's Upendra Yadav are two wicketkeepers named to replace KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel in the India A team. Young left-arm pacer Manav Suthar is a notable absentee after an impressive performance in recent matches.
India ‘A’ squad for the 2nd multi-day match: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav (wk), Akash Deep, Yash Dayal
India ‘A’ squad for the 3rd multi-day match: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Washington Sundar, Shams Mulani, Arshdeep Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Upendra Yadav (wk), Akash Deep, Yash Dayal
