Representing India-A in the upcoming sequence towards Australia-A is a essential step for gamers eyeing a spot in the senior national crew, head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar mentioned on Monday.
The Shreyas Iyer-led facet will tackle Australia-A in two four-day games on the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, beginning Tuesday.
“India-A games are the step before playing for the senior team,” Kanitkar mentioned on the eve of the match. “It gives the team international exposure and helps their development as well.”
As many as 11 of the 15 gamers chosen featured in the lately held Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru for their respective zones.
“This is the next step for them to do well and try for a place in the Indian team. This is ideal because you get to play an international side. Australia-A players here too are trying to get into their senior side. So it’ll be a hard-fought match,” Kanitkar mentioned.
Abhimanyu Easwaran has been on a number of Test excursions with the senior crew however is but to make his debut. Kanitkar mentioned the 30-year-old is in a good area and motivated to take up the problem.
“He’s an experienced player — has led Bengal and played a lot of senior games. So we don’t have to tell him a lot because he knows how cricket is played, what to do when you don’t get chances. The good thing is he’s very motivated to push himself to perform and grab the chance whenever he gets the opportunity,” he mentioned.
