Jalaj Saxena added to India A squad for first four-day match against South Africa A

The first game will see Andhra wicket-keeper K S Bharat also playing while Rajasthan Royals and Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham misses out.

All-rounder Jalaj Saxena was on Sunday added to India A squad for the first four-day match against South Africa A. Saxena, who is an off-spinner, was called in as cover for K Gowtham, who is unwell and currently being monitored by a medical team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

File photo of Jalaj-Saxena. (HT Photo)

The India A team comprises Shubman Gill (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Ankeet Bawne, KS Bharat (wk), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar and Jalaj Saxena.

India A clinched the five-match unofficial ODI series 4-1 against South Africa A and will now play the first four-day game of the two-match series in Thiruvananthapuram from tomorrow. Gill is getting a chance to lead the side in n the first of the two four-day matches while India international Wriddhiman Saha is going to captain in the second.

The first game will see Andhra wicket-keeper K S Bharat also playing while Rajasthan Royals and Karnataka all-rounder K Gowtham misses out. India ‘A’ will look towards the experience of Saxena, who became the first uncapped Indian to score 6000 first-class runs and pick up 300 wickets.

(with agency inputs)