India A is very likely to leave for England on May 25 and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already initiated travel arrangements for the squad. While the team is yet to be picked, the Indian cricket board is ensuring logistics are in order for a pool of players identified by the Ajit Agarkar-led men’s senior selection committee.
As per the initial plan, the India A players who will not be featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) knockouts will leave together and the rest will join when they get free from the cash-rich league. BCCI have reached out to multiple players and their passports, jersey sizes have been collected by the logistics team.
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India A are set to feature in three four-day games against England Lions, starting May 30 in Canterbury, before the five-Test series against England gets underway on June 20. As of now, the players likely to be part of the main squad will only be flying in the first week of June and there is a bright possibility of some Test players featuring in the second unofficial Test before the intra-squad game.
Who’s that IPL player?
It is reliably learnt that some senior players want to have a hit in one of the unofficial Tests, not the intra-squad game, before the series opener but that would depend on how far their respective team goes in the ongoing IPL coupled with necessary clearances from the medical team. Since it’s a long tour, the Indian cricket board wants to ensure that the players are well rested and recovered after a gruelling season of the IPL.
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This could well mean that the Test squad players will leave in batches in the first week of June. Even for the tour of Australia, players left in batches. Both Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul, who were part of the Test squad, were flown in early to play the second unofficial Test vs Australia A, to get much-needed game time.
Similar drill could be followed this time around, too, especially for the players who are yet to have a taste of England in their career.
In addition to the India and India A teams, India U-19, the women’s team and the mixed disability team would all be in England during the summer. The India A team will play three unofficial tests, India will play five Tests, India women’s team will feature in five T20Is and three ODIs and the U-19 are likely to play five one-dayers and two Tests.
