Matches against Australia A may provide suitable practice, or be granted as an audition, for some back-up players most likely to be chosen in the Test team. Devdutt Padikkal, B Indrajith and Ricky Bhui are set to be the middle-order batsmen within the Bharat A team; Abishek Porel and Ishan Kishan, the goalkeepers; Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar, the all-rounders; and Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Yash Dayal, the fast bowlers.
Having recovered from a hernia, 21-year-old all-rounder Reddy made his T20I debut for Bharat against Bangladesh today and is currently a sure-fire player in Bharat’s Test squad for the home match against New Zealand. He is evident to Bharat’s selectors as a promising all-rounder who could be bolstered with more love and publicity.
Bharat A is scheduled to play Australia A in two four-day matches in Mackay starting October 31 and Melbourne starting November 7. They will then play against the Bharat team in a warm-up match in Perth between November 15 and 17 before the first check to Australia begins on November 22.
Bharat A team for an excursion to Australia
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Yash Dayal.
