Rohit says it will be ‘special’ to play at Wankhede with a stand in his name

MUMBAI: Senior India batter Rohit Sharma said it will be a "special feeling" for him to play in India jersey in the ODIs at the Wankhede Stadium where a stand was on Friday named after him.

Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) named a stand each at the Wankhede Stadium after Rohit, former India skipper Ajit Wadekar, and ex-BCCI president Sharad Pawar.

“I had never dreamt of what was going to happen today. You try to achieve a lot of milestones, but something like this is really special, because Wankhede is an iconic stadium and so many memories have been made here,” said Rohit, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7.

“I am still playing and retired from two formats. It will be surreal to play when I play on 21st (for Mumbai Indians in IPL) and have a stand here, it will be special when I represent the country here,” added Rohit who has also retired from T20 Internationals after leading India to the World Cup trophy last year.

Jaiswal picked in A squad ahead of England tour

India Test team regulars including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel were on Friday named in the India A squad for the two-match series against England Lions beginning in Canterbury on May 30.

Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan will be available for the second four-day game against England Lions starting in Northampton from June 6.

The India A tour precedes the five-match Test series in England. The A side will also play an intra-squad match with the senior team in Beckenham from June 13 to 16. The first Test begins in Leeds on June 20.

In the BCCI statement related to the squad announcement, it was clear that no changes have been made to the original schedule despite pushing back the IPL final to June 3 from May 25.

The squad includes players from the IPL teams which are either out of the playoffs race or are unlikely to make the knockouts.

Karun Nair, a heavy scorer on the domestic circuit, is back into the national set up after eight years. Vidarbha left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, who took a record 69 wickets in Ranji Trophy this season, is also part of the touring party.

India A squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey

Note: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match