Abhinav Mukund to Lead India A vs Bangladesh

Abhinav Mukund, who has played five Test matches for India, will captain the India A side in a two-day warm-up game against Bangladesh at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad on February 5 and 6. Bangladesh will then play a one-off Test against India at Hyderabad from February 9 to 13. Tamil Nadu skipper Mukund will lead a 14-member India A side which also includes all-rounder Jayant Yadav, who sustained an injury during the England series, and the match will be his fitness Test before the big game against the neighbouring nation.

Hardik Pandya will also like to make his case stronger and get retained in the squad after being injured during practice ahead of the Mohali Test against England.

The team of 14 features all performers in the Ranji Trophy including top run-getter Priyank Panchal and top wicket-taker Shahbaz Nadeem.

One of the unique feature of the squad is presence of three wicketkeepers -- Ishan Kishan, who is named in the list as the wicketkeeper. But it also has the flamboyant Rishabh Pant and second highest scorer of the season Nitin Saini of Haryana.

Since a two-day match is not an official first-class game, there is a possibility that selectors can check out all three glovesmen.

Mumbai's top run-getter Shreyas Iyer gets another chance at the 'A' level while Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar is also a part of the squad.

With dearth of quality left-arm seamers in the country, Rajasthan's Aniket Chaudhary and Hyderabad's former India U-19 Chama Milind will like to showcase what they can bring to the table.

Squad: Abhinav Mukund (captain), Priyank Kirit Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Ishank Jaggi, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Aniket Choudhary, CV Milind, Nitin Saini.

(With PTI inputs)