3 in his seven Test appearances for India, had opened during India A’s tour of Sri Lanka where he scored 132 and 168 in the two first-class matches against Sri Lanka ‘A’ before missing the Test series due to fractured foot that required extensive six weeks of rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. A fit-again Sai Sudharsan will once again open the innings for India A with an aim of clinching the reserve opener’s slot for the tour of New Zealand when hosts take on Australia A in the opening four-day first-class game starting Tuesday. For Australia A, a number of Test team hopefuls are on the tour, including openers Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, spinner Todd Murphy and pacer Jhye Richardson. Sudharsan, who batted at No.
A fit-again Sai Sudharsan will once again open the innings for India A with an aim of clinching the reserve opener’s slot for the tour of New Zealand when hosts take on Australia A in the opening four-day first-class game starting Tuesday.
It is for a second time in 12 months that an Australia A team is touring India in preparation for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, and its multi-day squad also includes veteran batter Peter Handscomb and Ashes-winning quick Brendan Doggett.
Acclimatising to these conditions will be good for him if and when he does come back,” coach Tim Paine said. Devdutt Padikkal, who is captaining the India A team, has now cemented his place in the Test squad as one down batter with two hundreds in the last series in Sri Lanka Hence Sudharsan, who had started opening from the last ‘A’ series, will like to start off against Australia A from where he left in the preceding series versus Sri Lanka A. The Indian Test squad is specifically looking at a few spots which include a third opener and a quality reserve spinner primarily for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which is scheduled between last week of January and first week of March. The second part is also looking at players who could be picked for the India A team’s three-Test tour of New Zealand. “Pete (Handscomb) is one of the best players of spin in Australia. It is a great thing for him, it shows even at his age he is in contention.
