Gill in focus as India A take on South Africa A in One-day series

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 28 

Young Shubman Gill would be the cynosure of all eyes when the five-match unofficial One-day series between India A and South Africa begins here tomorrow.

Gill, who has been in good form in recent times, shone during India A’s recent Caribbean tour but missed out on selection for the ODI squad. And the batsman would be keen to prove his credentials during the matches against the visiting South African A side.

The stylish Punjab right-hander, who played two ODIs in New Zealand earlier this year, would look to continue the good run he enjoyed in the Caribbean (with the A team) to make a case for himself ahead of the home season. Besides Gill, all-rounder Vijay Shankar is another player who will be under the selectors’ lens after he recovered from a toe injury. 

Shankar had to returned mid-way from the World Cup due to the injury and made his return to the field during the recent Tamil Nadu Premier League. With a long home season ahead, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder would be eager to get back into the groove and push his case for selection.

Manish Pandey, who recently made a comeback into the national limited-overs side in the West Indies, will lead the team in the first three games before Shreyas Iyer takes over for the last two matches. — PTI

SA T20s: No Dhoni as selectors ready to persist with Pant 

New Delhi: Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have put his international retirement on hold but he is unlikely to be selected for India’s three-match T20I home series against South Africa starting September 15 in Dharamsala. The team for the series is expected to be picked on September 4. The remaining two games will be played at Mohali (September 18) and Bengaluru (September 22). In all likelihood, the squad that blanked West Indies 3-0 is likely to be retained (subject to fitness) and the selection committee wants to continue building towards World T20 in Australia in October 2020. “There are only 22 T20 Internationals before India play their first World T20 game and selectors are clear in their vision that it’s time to move forward,” a senior BCCI official said. “They are planning on getting a pool of three keepers ready for limited overs, especially T20s,” he added.