Jharkhand batsman Shikhar Mohan has been rewarded for his stellar show in domestic cricket with a place in the India A squad for four-day games in New Zealand.
In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, the 21-year-old left-handed batsman scored centuries in both rounds. Against Kerala, the opener smashed 143 off 196 balls with the help of 18 fours and two sixes as Jharkhand picked up three points on the basis of their first-innings lead.
Then, in the second game against Maharashtra, he scored a very important century under pressure in the second innings. Jharkhand trailed by 358 runs and stared a big defeat in the face, but Mohan’s 127 helped them avoid it as Jharkhand picked up a point.
Mohan, who made his first-class debut last year, has been prolific in the 12 matches that he has played so far, scoring 1,109 runs at a solid average of 61.61.
India play two Tests in New Zealand after five T20Is and five ODIs. Quite a few Test regulars are in the India A squad like KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar and Akash Deep. These three 4-day games are part of India’s preparations for the Test series. Mohan will be available for selection after the first game.
The India A-New Zealand A series kicks off on Saturday at Lincoln, followed by matches in Christchurch (October 31-November 3) and Lincoln again (November 07-10). The first Test between India and New Zealand starts in Wellington on November 19, followed by the second at Christchurch on November 27.
India A squad:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, R Smaran, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (captain and wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, B Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar, Rishabh Pant (subject to fitness), Shikhar Mohan (for 2nd and 3rd games)
