One may wonder why talented chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav is going to be wasted in a practice game against the touring Sri Lankans at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday. He may be better off serving Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone in New Delhi.
The 19-year-old, who by his own admission loves bowling in the longer format, will send down no more than 10 overs besides gaining a bit of experience by taking on the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and others.
But Yadav, who ought to have been tested in the ODI series against the West Indies, would gain a lot more by going through the grind of first-class cricket. In fact, he made a good impression on debut last week by turning for North Zone in the Duleep semifinal.
That said, Yadav will be one of the fringe India players who will be looked at keenly on Thursday. Ditto with Rohit Sharma, who was sidelined for the recent series against the West Indies due to finger and shoulder injuries.
Sharma has been batting in the nets for the last 10 days. According to India 'A' coach Sanjay Bangar, Sharma is fine Batting-wise. "It is his fielding that we have to monitor," Bangar said.
For Sharma, Thursday's match will be a do-or-die game as far as the rest of the season goes that includes a full tour of Australia and the World Cup.
There was another fitness concern for Bangar when pace bowler Jaspreet Bumrah was sent for an MRI scan "for a knee sprain that he said he had picked up during the Duleep Trophy." He bowled with a shorter run-up on Wednesday.
This match would also be another opportunity for India 'A' players, including captain Manoj Tiwary to impress the selectors and stake a claim for the probable squad of 30 for the World Cup, if nothing else.
"It's a very important game. This year, the schedule has been done to give a lot of opportunities for domestic players as well as India 'A' players to score runs and make their case stronger for selection," said Tiwary on Wednesday.
Squads
India 'A': Manoj Tiwary (C), Unmukt Chand, Manan Vohra, Karun Nair, Rohit Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson, Parvez Rasool, Karn Sharma, Stuart Binny, Dhaval Kulkarni, Jaspreet Bumrah, Manish Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (C), Chaturanga de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Gamage, Mahela Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashan Priyanjan, Kumar Sangakkara, Upul Tharanga
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