Skipper Mukund hopes for a better showing in New Zealand

Having endured a tough tour of the West Indies earlier this year, the Lalchand Rajput-coached India ‘A’ will eye a much better performance when they head to New Zealand to face their ‘A’ squad later this month.

The squad, to be led by Tamil Nadu opener Abhinav Mukund, is undergoing a camp at the National Cricket Academy here in preparation for the series scheduled to be held from September 18 to October 6.  The series against the Kiwis will comprise two four-day ‘Tests’, three 50-over matches and a Twenty20 tie, all of which will be held at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln University.

Mukund, who was part of the Cheteshwar Pujara-led outfit which lost the ‘Test’ series (1-2), and drew the two-match T20 and three-match one-day series (one match was abandoned due to rain), said the team would look to put behind the lacklustre show in the Caribbean.

“It’s the right time for us to begin training,” said the 22-year-old opener. “All I am happy about is that we have enough time for preparation. We want to make sure we get prepared the right way. The last tour was probably not a great one as we didn't have a lot of time to prepare. It was right after the IPL (Indian Premier League). This is a fresh season for all of us and we want to make a good start.”

Barring the under-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand and Karnataka paceman R Vinay Kumar, the rest of the team hit the straps on the day. The BCCI has given Unmukt and Vinay permission to join the camp a little later as the Delhi lad wanted to spend some time with his family while the seamer is leading the State side in the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai.

“Definitely yes,” said Mukund when asked if Unmukt’s presence in the squad would help India’s campaign. “Having led India to the U-19 World Cup, it’s a good platform for him to come and share his experiences with us. He played in Australia and the conditions are not so different from New Zealand so it’s great to have him in the side.”

Talking about captaincy and the balance of the squad, Mukund said: “It’s an honour to be given the captaincy. I’ll try to and do my best. I think we are a very well balanced team. We have five fast bowlers, three spinners and seven batsmen so we have all bases covered.”

Mukund, who has played five Tests with the senior team, is also eyeing a comeback.

“Score a lot of runs and that’s about it,” said the left-hander when talking about his ambition to return to the senior side. “Anyone goes through a bad phase, but I want to make sure I am very well prepared for the upcoming tour.”

The camp ends on Sept 12.