The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had already announced the India A squad for the England tour. Now, details regarding the coaching staff of the team have also come to light. Usually, when the senior India team’s head coach is not on a tour, National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman steps in as coach for India A. However, this time, that’s not the case.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been appointed as the head coach of the India A team for the tour. Along with Kanitkar, Assam’s Subhadeep Ghosh will serve as the fielding coach, and Troy Cooley has been named the bowling coach.
Who is Hrishikesh Hemant Kanitkar?
Hrishikesh Hemant Kanitkar is a former Indian cricketer who played a few Test and ODI matches for the national team. A left-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler, Kanitkar retired from professional cricket in 2015. By then, he was one of only three batsmen to have scored over 8,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy. He is also the only captain in the tournament’s history to have won titles in both the Elite and Plate divisions.
The 18-member India A squad is expected to depart for England in batches on May 25 and 26. The first four-day match against the England Lions — classified as a first-class fixture — will begin on May 30 in Canterbury.
Also Read- IPL 2025 DC vs GT- Arun Jaitley Stadium Pitch Report
Following the second four-day match in Northampton starting on June 6, India A will also play a warm-up match against the senior India team behind closed doors in Beckenham from June 13 to 16. This will be treated as an intra-squad match.
BCCI has also confirmed that Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the A squad before the second match against the England Lions.
As of now, BCCI has not yet announced the senior team for the England tour. Reports suggest that the original announcement was scheduled for May 23, but the delay in the IPL schedule may have pushed back the team announcement.
India A Squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (Vice-Captain & Wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey.
