INDIA A TOUR OF WEST INDIES

Saha named India A wicketkeeper for four-day matches in West Indies

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

Wriddhiman Saha's last first-class appearance was during the Test series against South Africa in January 2018 © Getty

Wriddhiman Saha, who last played a first-class game in Cape Town in January 2018, has been named the designated wicketkeeper for the three four-day matches that India A play on their tour of West Indies. Andhra's Srikar Bharat is also part of the squad for the three four-day games, giving India A an additional wicketkeeping option.

Rishabh Pant, India's incumbent wicketkeeper in Test matches, finds a place only in the five one-dayers that precede the four-day games.

India also tour West Indies after the World Cup, and will kick-start their campaign in the World Test Championship with a two-Test series. They will also play ODIs and T20s in what will constitute a full-blown tour. Keeping that in mind, Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal - the two incumbent Test openers - replace Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran for the third four-day match.

Shreyas Iyer will lead the side in all the three matches, and will steer the middle-order along with Hanuma Vihari and Shubman Gill. Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan form the pace bowling attack whereas Shahbaz Nadeem and Mayank Markande are the two specialist spinners. Shivam Dube and K Gowtham are the two all-rounders in the squad.

As for the five one-dayers, Manish Pandey will lead India A. The tour begins July 11, nearly a month after India A host Sri Lanka A in Belgaum and Hubli.

The opening positions in the 50-over format will be a toss-up between Shaw, Agarwal and Gill, the latter having recently been named the emerging player in 2019 Indian Premier League. The middle-order will be populated by the likes of Iyer, Vihari, Pandey and Pant, who's also the designated wicketkeeper, while the all-rounders include Washington Sundar, Axar Patel and Krunal Pandya.

Rahul Chahar is the specialist spin bowler while Deepak Chahar, Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh form the pace quartet.

India A squad for five one-day matches: Manish Pandey (c), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishab Pant (wk), Rahul Chahar, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

India A squad for 1st & 2nd four-day matches:Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Shivam Dube, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wk), K Gowtham, S Nadeem, Mayank Markande, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan

India A squad for 3rd four-day match:Shreyas Iyer (c), Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Shivam Dube, Mayank Markande, K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan

Fixtures for India A tour of West Indies:

Date Match Venue July 11 1st one-day game Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua July 14 2nd one-day game Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua July 16 3rd one-day game Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua July 19 4th one-day game Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua July 21 5th one-day game Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua July 24-27 1st four-day game Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua July 31-August 3 2nd four-day game Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain August 6-9 3rd four-day game Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago

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