The national selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, picked a young India A squad full of IPL performers for the upcoming one-off warm-up T20 tour opener against the touring South African side scheduled to be played at the Air Force Ground in Palam on September 29. The selection committee, however, did not name anyone as the captain for the match and it is likely that either Mumbai batsman Surya Kumar Yadav or Punjab batsman Mandeep Singh will walk out for the toss on September 29.
Former India U-23 captain and T20 specialist Suryakumar Yadav also made the cut. Mayank Agarwal, after a good time for India A in the List A games, was an automatic selection along with Manish Pandey, Rishi Dhawan and Sanju Samson. The only questionable selection in the squad was Punjab’s Manan Vohra. It gives a clear indication for these names to do well and cement their spot in the Indian T20 side, with the 2016 World T20 approaching past.
Among the 12 member squad, nine of them have already represented the National A team while Haryana leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, Delhi All-Rounder Pawan Negi and Baroda’s hard hitting batsman Hardik Pandya are set to feature for the Indian A side for the first time. The trio has been rewarded for their good performances in the IPL. Here is the squad:
India A: Mayank Agarwal, Manan Vohra, Manish Pandey, Mandeep Singh, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Kuldeep Yadav.
Possible Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Manan Vohra, Manish Pandey, Mandeep Singh, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Pawan Negi, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal.