Former India Batter Appointed Head Coach Of India A For England Tour

Former Indian women’s head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been appointed as the head coach of the India A side that will shadow the senior side in England ahead of their five-Test series scheduled from June. 

While Kanitkar will be the head coach of the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led side, he will he supported by fielding coach Subhodeep Ghosh of Assam and bowling coach Troy Cooley, who has a lot of experience in working with young and upcoming Indian pacers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. 

Earlier, Karun Nair turned out to be the biggest story when the 18-member squad for the A tour was selected. Nair reaped the rewards of being at his absolute best in the last Ranji Trophy edition, where he amassed 863 runs at an average of 53.93.

The side also has two more openers apart from skipper Easwaran in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Alongside that, familiar names such as Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ishan Kishan and Shardul Thakur have also returned to the fold. Meanwhile, familiar names like Anshul Kamboj, Harshit Rana and Khaleel Ahmed, including others, have been included in the bowling department. 

As per reports, the A squad is expected to travel to England by May 26 and will play the first tour game just a few days after landing, which is scheduled for May 30 in Canterbury against England Lions. The second four-day game begins June 6, after which the A team players will be involved in intra-squad matches between June 13 and 16 as the senior side reaches there. 

The senior team for England is yet to be picked, and is expected to be finalised by the end of May. The first Test begins in Headingley from June 20.