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As India A gears up to lock horns with Australia A, the spotlight is on southpaws Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan in the opening four-day game at the CAP-Siechem Stadium here, starting on Tuesday.
Skipper Padikkal, who took over the Test No. 3 slot from Sudharsan, seized the opportunity by scoring centuries in both Tests on the recent tour of Sri Lanka, as per a release. India are scheduled to play two Tests on their multi-format tour of New Zealand later this year, before hosting Australia for a high-profile five-Test series early next year. It is for a second time in 12 months that an Australia A team is touring India in preparation for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, and their multi-day squad includes veteran batter Peter Handscomb and Ashes-winning quicks Brendan Doggett and Jhye Richardson. Pete (Handscomb) is one of the best players of spin in Australia. It is a great thing for him, it shows even at his age he is in contention. Acclimatising to these conditions will be good for him if and when he does come back, coach Tim Paine said. Doggett and Richardson, just being exposed to red ball cricket in India, the conditions and the heat, and being able to bowl in it. There are a lot of different things, like the lengths that you have to bowl, so for them to be being able to come here and experience it, former Australia captain Paine added. Teams: India A: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal [C], Sai Sudharsan [VC], Yash Rathod, Shaik Rasheed, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge, N Jagadeesan [WK], Nachiket Bhute, Tripurana Vijay. Australia A: Brendan Doggett, Jack Edwards, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Fergus O'Neill, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott. (ANI)
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