SA batter Malan to captain 14-member 'A' squad in series against India 'A'

Johannesburg, Nov 11 (IANS) South Africa batter Pieter Malan will be captaining a 14-member South Africa 'A' squad that will take on India 'A' in a three-match four-day series. All matches of the tour will be played at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein. The first four-day match will be played from November 23 to 26, followed by the second match from November 29 to December 2, and finishing with the third match from December 6 to 9.

"Test cricket remains one of C'A's key focus areas, along with ensuring that the format continues to thrive and hold relevance in our country. It is therefore vital that a steady stream of talent continues to emerge from our high-performance programme," said Victor Mpitsang, CSA convenor of selectors.

"The Covid-19 pandemic saw the disruption of the South Africa A 'eam's fixtures and CSA is pleased to see the return of content for this programme. We are looking forward to more tours for this team in particular, as the A team programme is a crucial one to CSA's overall pipeline strategy," added Mpitsang.

Apart from Malan, other international capped players in South A‘r'ca 'A' team include Senuran Muthusamy, Sinethemba Qeshile, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman and George Linde. Earlier on Tuesday, India had announced a strong 14-member squad to be captained by Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal which also includes youngsters Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Rahul Chahar, and Umran Malik.

"The senior South Africa and India teams will be clashing this summer here at home, so this is an ideal opportunity for players with Proteas ambitions to put their hands up and make a case for themselves. The panel and I wish Pieter and coach Malibongwe Maketa everything of the best ahead of this very important series," concluded Mpitsang.

Squads:

South Africa A: Pieter Malan (captain), Sarel Erwee, Dominic Hendricks, Raynard van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusammy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith and Tony de Zorzi

India A: Priyank Panchal (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicketkeeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, and Arzan Nagwaswalla