New Delhi. On June 20, there will be a premiere of the Indian senior team in England, so before that the young players have to be auditioned on the British soil, which will start from Friday. India A is fully prepared to clash with England Lions in the first unofficial Test starting on May 30. The team will be led by captain Abhimanyu Ishwaran and many stars will be seen in action which are also part of the main team. This series is a great opportunity for players like Serdul Thakur and Karun Nair to prove themselves before their much awaited return to the Indian Test team.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nair, Shardul, Dhruv Jurlel, Nitish Reddy and Akash Deep are stars who are part of the main team and will also play in India A Series. Although most of them took part in the IPL, but certainly Shardul and Nair will be eyeing everyone, especially when they are preparing to return to the Test team after a long time.
Karun Nair will have to show fire
Nair is ready to return to the Test team after about 7 years. He last played for India in 2017. In six Tests, he has scored 374 runs, including the highest score of 303 not out. He has returned from his continuous good performance in domestic cricket. In the Ranji Trophy 2024/25, he scored 690 runs at an average of 40.98. India A Series will be auditioned for Karun, which will reveal where he fits in the playing XI of the main team. After all, there is a huge emptiness after Virat Kohli’s sudden decision to retire, which needs to be filled.
Thakur would like to present the claim of the thumb
Shardul played his last Test match in 2023. Since then, he was not in favor of the selectors. However, like Nair, he made a comeback to the team with consistent performance in the domestic tournament. In the absence of Bumrah’s three Tests and Shami’s absence, the team will turn to Thakur in terms of both bat and ball. He is sure to get the green signal before Nitish Kumar Reddy. But his performance in India A tour will determine whether he is successful or not.
What can Ishwan do?
Ishwaran has played 101 first class matches and scored 7674 runs. However, he never succeeded in making a place in the Test XI of the Indian cricket team. He was part of the team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, but he never got a chance. Although it is very impossible that he got a place in the series against England, but his pan is heavy. Ishwaran will not only lead Bharat A, but he has to play at least three matches to prove that he deserves a place in the playing XI. Especially for Sai Sudarshan, who have been included in the team, but they are not going to participate in the tour.
How ready
Nitish Kumar Reddy was included in the Indian Test team after his best all -round performance in IPL 2024. He scored a great century in Australia. However, recently his form has been poor. He failed to make an impact in both the second phase of the Ranji Trophy and the IPL 2025. If they want to make a place in the Indian team ahead of Shardul, then India A series is the only platform where they can prove their merit.
Sarfaraz Khan in how many water
Sarfaraz was a remarkable player out of the main team. The batsman, who was injured during the tour of Australia, trained hard, in which he lost at least 10 kg in the hope of being selected for the tour of England. However, he was only successful in making a place in the India A team, not in the main team.
India -e -series will be a great platform to show that they can perform well even in foreign circumstances for Khan, known for their consistently good performance on the home ground. After all, his performance in the India A Series can be the only ticket that guarantees him the entry of wild card in the main team.
