New Delhi, Oct 21: India wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant was on Tuesday appointed captain of the national A side for a red-ball series against South Africa A after fully recovering from a foot fracture sustained during the tour of England.
Pant had injured his foot while batting in the fourth Test at Manchester in July and subsequently was not part of the Asia Cup squad and more recently the two-Test home series against the West Indies.
He was struck on his right toe by a Chris Woakes delivery but came out to bat heroically, scoring a half century albeit in a lost cause.
The selectors have named him in the India A squad for both the games, to be held in Bengaluru from October 30. The A series will give Pant valuable game time ahead of the two-match home Test series against South Africa beginning November 14 in Kolkata.Some other prominent names that will feature during the course of the two four-day games include K L Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, who has been named vice-captain, Devdutt Padikkal, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna among others. All six were a part of the squad for the West Indies Tests.
Prasidh, Siraj, Akash Deep and Jurel will play the second game, from November 6 to 9, during the short series. N Jagdeesan will be the second wicketkeeper in the squad for the first match.Sudharsan, whose technique was tested against the West Indies spinners, would be looking to improve that aspect of the game.India regulars like Rahul, Siraj, Krishna and Jurel are part of the squad for the second game beginning November 6. (PTI)
