India A is set to play three games on tour of England, two against Lions and one against India main.
The selection for the India A squad for the England tour is likely to be delayed due to the resumption of the IPL 2025. The IPL 2025 was paused for one week on May 9 due to tensions between India and Pakistan on the border.
BCCI recently announced the revised schedule of the IPL 2025 that will resume on May 17, with the final to be played on June 3.
India A are scheduled to play three games on their upcoming England tour—two versus England Lions (May 30-June 2 and June 6-9) and one against the senior India squad (June 13-16). The India schedule is thus clearly clashing with the fixtures of the IPL playoffs—from May 29 to June 3.
The India A team is likely to be captained by opener Abhimanyu Easwaran and will include India's Test opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and keeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
"The problem is that quite a few players, who are supposed to be picked for the India A tour, will be busy for their franchises as the IPL playoffs start only from May 29. In such a scenario, those players whose teams make it to the playoffs are likely to miss at least the initial part of the India A tour of England. Right now, we don’t have complete clarity on which teams will make the playoffs and which won't. For example, can the selectors pick Karun Nair, whose team, Delhi Capitals, is in the race for a playoff berth? I guess we will have to wait for a few days for more clarity on the availability of the players, as the IPL scenario will become clearer," a reliable source in the BCCI told TOI.
“Jaiswal and Jurel are likely to be there, as their team (Rajasthan Royals) is not in contention for an IPL playoffs berth. The selectors are keen that Jaiswal gets some match practice in the English conditions before the first Test," he added.
However, the Indian team's selection, which is set for later this month (probably on May 23), is still on track because by then, the IPL playoff scenario will be apparent.
While Patidar is expected to miss the remainder of the IPL due to a finger injury, Padikkal, who played 10 games for RCB this season and amassed 247 runs with the aid of two half-centuries, suffered an injury to his right hamstring.
Shardul Thakur is likely to make a Test return in the upcoming series in England. The 33-year-old fast bowler last donned the Test whites in December 2023, against South Africa at Centurion. Since then, he was overlooked for India’s three home Test series in 2024 and the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
Playing for Mumbai in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, Thakur took 35 wickets in nine matches at 22.62 and scored 505 runs@42.08 (was the second-highest run-getter for Mumbai), with four fifties and one hundred.
(Times of India report)