New Delhi, June 3
India’s newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill will not feature in the second unofficial Test between India A and England Lions, set to begin on June 6 in Northampton.
Although the BCCI had earlier announced that Gill and his Gujarat Titans opening partner B Sai Sudharsan would join the India A squad ahead of the match. However, both players will now travel directly with the senior Test squad, which arrives in England on June 6, ESPNcricinfo reported.
In contrast, KL Rahul is expected to turn out for India A after linking up with the squad on Tuesday.
The first Test of the five-match series between India and England is scheduled to begin on June 20 in Leeds.
England Lions, who fielded a relatively inexperienced side with only six Test caps in the opening game in Canterbury, are expected to be strengthened by the inclusion of all-rounder Chris Woakes for the Northampton match.
For India A, pacer Akash Deep will be available for selection. The right-arm fast bowler had been recovering from a back injury sustained after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year but was declared fit in April and subsequently played in IPL 2025 for the Lucknow Super Giants. Though he was present with the squad during the first unofficial Test, Akash mostly trained on the sidelines, bowling in brief spells during intervals across the four days.
The opening match between India A and England Lions ended in a draw on a flat and slow surface in Canterbury, offering little assistance to the bowlers. Among the standout performers for India A were Karun Nair, who struck a double hundred, Dhruv Jurel with two fifties, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, all of whom contributed quick half-centuries in the second innings.
All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, both part of India’s main Test squad, bowled 14.5 and 28 overs, respectively, in the match and are expected to continue building their workloads in the second unofficial Test.
After the Northampton match concludes on June 9, the Indian team will play a closed-door intra-squad fixture against India A in Beckenham. Following that, the senior Test squad will head to Leeds to prepare for the series opener.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Smart move by BCCI to send Gill directly with the main squad. He's our new Test captain and needs time to settle with the team. Hope KL Rahul gets some good practice in the A match though - he needs to regain his Test form badly! 🇮🇳ðŸ
Interesting to see how our bench strength is performing. Karun Nair's double century shows we have good backup options. But why no mention of spin options? England conditions may favor seamers but we can't ignore our spinning strength completely.
The management seems to be handling Akash Deep carefully after his back injury. Good approach - we don't want another injury-prone fast bowler. Remember how we mismanaged Bumrah's return last time? Hope he gets match fit before the Tests begin.
England Lions including Woakes is a good challenge for our batsmen. Our boys need to face quality bowling before the main series. Jaiswal and Easwaran looked good in the first match - hope they continue the form! 🤞
Not sure about this last-minute change in plans. Gill and Sudharsan playing for India A could have given them valuable match practice in English conditions. Hope this doesn't backfire like in 2021 when our batsmen looked undercooked.
Excited to see Nitish Kumar Reddy getting opportunities! His all-round skills could be crucial in England. Hope he gets more bowling time in the next match - we need backup all-rounders with Hardik's fitness being unreliable.
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