Eyes on Sarfaraz as India ‘A’ takes on NZ ‘A’

BENGALURU: Sarfaraz Khan will aim to convert his stupendous domestic performances into big runs at the top level when he takes strike for India ‘A’ in the first unofficial Test against New Zealand ‘A’ that begins on Thursday.

The New Zealand ‘A’ side comprises at least half-a-dozen players who have represented the senior national team in some format over the years. Meanwhile, most of the players in the India squad featured in the ‘A’ series in South Africa late last year and would like to consolidate their positions in the Test team’s pecking order.

In the host’s squad, no one will get the kind of traction that Sarfaraz is supposed to as he is back at the venue where he scored a hundred in the Ranji Trophy final a few months ago. So, the performances of Sarfaraz would be closely monitored.

Even skipper Priyank Panchal and his long-time ‘A’ team partner Abhimanyu Easwaran would hope to score heavily against bowlers like Matt Fisher, Benjamin Lister and Test spinner Rachin Ravindra. In the bowling department, left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Prasidh Krishna will look to impress.

Since there are three Tests, National Cricket Academy (NCA) head and team’s chief coach VVS Laxman is likely to try out all players across matches.