Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey Likely to be Named in India A Squad for Australia Tour

Uthappa, who excelled for Kolkata Knight Riders in its triumphant run in IPL 7, has already been rewarded with his inclusion in the squad to tour Bangladesh to play three ODIs later this month.

Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, who had a stellar run at the Ranji Trophy this season, along with other fringe players are expected to find berths in the India A squad which will be picked in Mumbai on Tuesday for the tour of Australia in July-August.

Uthappa, who excelled for Kolkata Knight Riders in its triumphant run in IPL 7, has already been rewarded with his inclusion in the squad to tour Bangladesh to play three ODIs later this month. Also expected to be picked by the senior panel headed by Sandeep Patil are some others who will tour Bangladesh but are not part of the squad selected for the five-Test series against England that follows immediately.

The list includes Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, R Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma and Amit Mishra.

India A are scheduled to play two four-day games against Australia A -- both in Queensland -- and also participate in a limited-overs quadrangular series, featuring South Africa A, Australia A, and Cricket Australia's National Performance squad, said a media release from the Cricket Board.

The tour, from July 6 to August 2, is part of an exchange programme that has been initiated by BCCI along with Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to provide increased exposure to upcoming players and provide them the opportunity to familiarise themselves with and compete in overseas conditions.

Match schedule: July 6-9 v Aus A at Allan Border Field, Queensland; July 13-16 v Aus A at Allan Border Field, Queensland; July 20-Aug 2: Quadrangular 'ODI' series in Northern Territory (Marrara Oval and Gardens Oval).