Test players hope to understand English conditions in India A's 1st 'Unofficial Test' against Lions

Canterbury (England): A clutch of frontline Test players, including opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, will be eager to acclimatise to English conditions during India A's first four-day unofficial Test against the England Lions, beginning here on Friday.

Apart from Jaiswal and Nitish, the India A side has Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel, Karun Nair, pacers Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur who will want to have a feel of the pronounced swing on offer here, ahead of the Test series against England, starting from June 20.

It's imperative too because these players, except Karun, are on their maiden tour to England.

It starts with Easwaran. India will require an opener to partner Jaiswal at the pole position after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and a batter at No. 4 slot which was left vacant by Virat Kohli.

In the context of an opener, the performance of Easwaran, who has extensive experience in the position through his 101-match-old First-Class career, will come under scrutiny.

The Bengal man had come close to breaking into the first eleven on a couple of occasions in the past, but failed to get an eventual look in.

Now there is an open space to explore after Rohit's departure and Easwaran will certainly want to produce a stellar effort to lock his place either as an opener or No. 3 in the five-match Test series.

The right-hander, who has a compact technique, can be used as No. 3 as well if the selectors want to make KL Rahul the opener. In that case, newly-appointed skipper Shubman Gill can be slotted in at No. 4 Karun's outings too will be in focus after forcing his way back to the India team after eight years on the back of a stellar run in the domestic circuit since the 2023-24 season.

The experienced batter is a favourite to find a place in the middle-order, and he also has considerable experience of English conditions while playing County cricket for Northamptonshire.

Nitish Reddy was very impressive in the 2024-25 Test series against Australia, having made 298 runs from five Tests at an average of 37 including a gutsy hundred.

But the inclusion of Thakur, himself a capable lower-order batter, in the Test squad as well as in the 'A' team is an indication that the Indian management is in the hunt for some more firepower in bowling.

Therefore, Reddy will be keen to stay ahead of the competition with a fruitful outing both with bat and ball.

Dhruv Jurel, who is also a part of the Test outfit, and Sarfaraz Khan, who missed out on Test selection, will like to keep themselves ready if a call comes their way at some stage of the five-match series.

Ishan Kishan, Tanush Kotian, who joined the India squad after R Ashwin's abrupt retirement after the Brisbane Test last year, and Harshit Rana, who made his Test debut against the Aussies, too will be eager to exhibit their skills to remain on the selectors' radar for future needs.

Kotian has also been a familiar figure in a few of the 'A' tours in the last year or so.

From England's perspective, they will be monitoring the fitness of Jordan Cox after he was ruled out of the recent one-off Test against Zimbabwe with an abdominal muscle injury.

The 21-year-old James Rew is the Lions' skipper and he is having a wonderful run in this year's County Championship, averaging 55.

Test regulars spinner Rehan Ahmed and all-rounder Chris Woakes are also part of the Lions squad, and the pair hitting some early form is crucial for England.

Teams (from):

India A: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey.

England Lions: James Rew (captain), Farhan Ahmed, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Jordan Cox, Rocky Flintoff, Emilio Gay, Tom Haines, George Hill, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Dan Mousley, Ajeet Singh Dale, Chris Woakes, Max Holden.