Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday, announced the India A squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa for one-day and four-day matches.
The youngster from Hyderabad, Mohammed Siraj, who had a sensational Ranji season as he finished as the third highest wicket-taker after taking 41 wickets while at the IPL he took 10 wickets for the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, will debut for India in this tour.
The 23-year-old fast bowler speaking to Sportstar on his selection, revealed, “It is a big thing for me. Initially, I thought the seniors were pulling my leg, but now, it is sinking in slowly,” he was quoted as saying.
“Everything is happening by the grace of God. Without the support of my parents, I would have never come so far. This is a big thing for me,” he said in one breath.
Senior team players Karun Nair and Manish Pandey have been named Captains of India A’s unofficial Test and one-day teams respectively.
India A will play a one-day tri-series involving Australia A and South Africa A followed by two four-day matches against the hosts.
One-day squad: Mandeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Manish Pandey (captain), Deepak Hooda, Karun Nair, Krunal Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jayant Yadav, Basil Thampi, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Siddarth Kaul.
Four-day matches squad: Priyank Panchal Abhinav Mukund, Shreyas Iyer, Ankit Bawne, Karun Nair (Captain), Sudip Chatterjee, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hanuma Vihari, Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Aniket Choudhary, Ankit Rajpoot.
(With inputs from PTI)