Why Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan Are Not Playing IND-A vs ENG Lions 1st Test?
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan were not picked in India A's playing XI for the first Test against England Lions as the team preferred players from the senior Test squad.
India A began their red-ball campaign against England Lions at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury on Friday. The visitors were put in to bat first after losing the toss. While fans were excited to watch India’s young talent in action, the absence of two popular names — Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan — surprised many.
Why Ruturaj Gaikwad Is Missing
India A decided to go with Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Karun Nair as their top-order batters. Ruturaj Gaikwad, despite good form in domestic cricket and IPL, was left out.
There’s a simple reason behind this. Jaiswal and Karun Nair are part of India’s main Test squad for the upcoming England series. Abhimanyu Easwaran is leading the India A side and was expected to play. Since Ruturaj is not part of the senior squad, he had to make way for those who will likely feature in the Test matches against England.
Why Ishan Kishan Didn’t Make the XI
Ishan Kishan was also benched for this game, with Dhruv Jurel being picked as the wicketkeeper. Jurel is in the race to play for India in the Test series and has been consistent in both domestic and international red-ball games.
The India A team management chose to give match practice to players who are likely to feature in the five-Test series, and Ishan, who is not part of the senior squad right now, had to sit out.
India A Playing XI vs England Lions (1st Unofficial Test)
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Anshul Kamboj, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar
