Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday (November 11) announced the South Africa A squad for the upcoming three-match, four-day series against India A team, starting on November 23 in Bloemfontein.
All-rounder George Linde, fast bowlers Lutho Sipamla and Marco Jansen, and batter Raynard van Tonder have been named in the 14-member A squad announced by the CSA on Thursday.
The South Africa A side will be led by the 32-year-old opening batter Pieter Malan in the upcoming four-day series against India A. The series will offer an opportunity for South African players to fight for places in the senior squad before India's upcoming long tour of the country.
South Africa and India will play three Tests, three One-Day Internationals, and four T20 Internationals from December 17 onwards, after the three-match, four-day contests of the A side.
CSA convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said in a press release: “Test cricket remains one of CSA’s key focus areas, along with ensuring that the format continues to thrive and hold relevance in our country.”
He continued, “It is therefore vital that a steady stream of talent continues to emerge from our high-performance program. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the disruption of the South Africa A team’s fixtures and CSA is pleased to see the return of content for this program.”
Mpitsang concluded, “We are looking forward to more tours for this team in particular, as the A team program is a crucial one to CSA’s overall pipeline strategy. The senior South Africa and India teams will be clashing this summer here at home, so this is an ideal opportunity for players with Proteas ambitions to put their hands up and make a case for themselves.”
South Africa A squad:
Pieter Malan (C), Sarel Erwee, Dominic Hendricks, Raynard Van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusammy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith, Tony De Zorz
India A Squad:
Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla
Fixtures:
November 23-26: 1st Four-Day game at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
November 29-December 2: 2nd Four-Day game at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
December 6-9: 3rd Four-Day game at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
(With PTI Inputs)
