All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead India A out against Australia in a three-day warm-up match against Australia at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai between February 16-18, reported PTI.
The 15-member squad named on Tuesday comprises mainly top performers from the recently-concluded Ranji Trophy season, including top run-scorer Priyank Panchal, who amassed 1310 runs at an average of 87.33 and top wicket-taker Shahbaz Nadeem.
Swashbuckling young batsmen, Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan also made it to the squad with the latter asked to keep wickets.
There was more young talent in the form of Tamil Nadu’s Baba Indrajith and Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer, who topped the run-scoring charts in the 2015-’16 Ranji Trophy. Another Mumbai batsman, Akhil Herwadkar has also been picked.
Maharashtra’s Ankit Bawne also received a call-up. He was involved in a record-breaking 594-run stand with Swapnil Gugale against Delhi.
Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda earned a recall, again, on the back of an impressive domestic season which saw him snare 39 wickets at 19.53 for Bengal. Alongside Nadeem, the other spinners in the side are Krishnappa Gowtham and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.
India A Squad
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Akhil Herwadkar, Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Ankit Bawne, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shahbaz Nadeem, Krishnappa Gowtham, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Ashok Dinda, Mohammed Siraj, Rahul Singh, Baba Indrajith.