India began their preparations for the tour of England Test series with two great outings in Canterbury and Northampton against England Lions.
With the main squad in the UK after the completion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, the intra-squad game in Beckenham has offered a glimpse into the opportunities for the new cycle of the World Test Championship.
Sarfaraz Khan scores hundred before England Test series
On Day 2 of the intra-squad game, Sarfaraz Khan was the stand out performer with a blitzy hundred. The Mumbai batter, who hasn’t been selected for the main squad, reached his hundred in just 76 balls which included 15 fours and two sixes. Sarfaraz retired out on 101.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan also had a good outing as he remained not out on 45. Top-order batters Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan scored 39 and 38 respectively while all-rounder Washington Sundar batted twice and registered scores of 0 and 35.
Mumbai all-rounder Shardul Thakur remained not out on 19.
Easwaran was the captain of the India A side in the two games against the Lions. The Bengal batter registered scores of 8 and 68 in Canterbury and 11 and 80 in Northampton.
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Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is going through a lean patch for the past few months, was dismissed for a duck in the match behind closed doors. Gaikwad was ruled out of the IPL 2025 due to an elbow injury was given the green signal for the India A shadow tour. The Maharashtra captain didn’t get to bat in both the first and second India A games.
Jasprit Bumrah goes wicketless in Intra-squad match
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ended up wicketless on the second day, while Mohammed Siraj claimed two wickets. However, the Hyderabad pacer was expensive as he conceded at more than 7 runs per over.
Bumrah is unlikely to play all five matches in the series due to workload management issues. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh will get a chance to play in the long series which begins on June 20 in Leeds.
Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair are likely to get a game in the top-order with the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
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