Pleasant surprise for talented Jose

Karnataka batter picked for India A's Asia Cup

Fresh after being included in the India A squad for the ACC men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Sri Lanka later in the month, Nikin Jose chose to hit the gym to calm his nerves on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old Karnataka batter had no clue that he had done enough to earn a spot after just one Ranji Trophy season with the State side.

“Definitely not,” he says when asked if he expected the call-up.

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“I expected it to happen but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen so soon. I broke the news to my parents just a little while ago and they are very, very happy.”

Jose made it to the side earlier last year and rewarded the selectors by scoring 547 runs from nine matches at an impressive debut average of 49.72.

“Playing for Karnataka itself was a big deal for me. Playing for Karnataka feels like playing for India because of all the stars in the team.

“There are such high expectations too, but after making the team I understood the weightage of my place in the side,” he says.

While the numbers themselves are impressive, it was his poise at the crease which stood out during the season. Short in stature, Jose moves effectively but did have some trouble with the incoming ball.

“I have been working on that for a while now,” he opens up. “I have had that trouble from age group cricket, and it became more pronounced at the higher level.

“I have worked on my balance and that’s helping me quite a bit. It’s about balance at the point of contact.”

The Junior Cricket Committee, headed by former Karnataka cricketer Thilak Naidu announced the 19-member squad earlier in the day with Yash Dhull as the skipper and Abhishek Sharma as his deputy.

The tournament, to be played between eight Asian nations in the 50-over format, will run between July 13-23 in Colombo.

India A are placed in Group B with Nepal, UAE A and Pakistan A.

Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Abhishek Sharma (vice-captain), Nikin Jose, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Yash Dhull (captain), Riyan Parag, Nishant Sindhu, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Manav Suthar, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Harshit Rana, Akash Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rajvardhan Hangargekar

Standbys:: Harsh Dubey, Nehal Wadhera, Snell Patel, Mohit Redkar

Coaching staff: Head coach: Sitanshu Kotak. Bowling coach: Sairaj Bahutule. Fielding coach: Munish Bali.