The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced the India A squad for the upcoming tour of England. The team will play two first-class matches against the England Lions at Canterbury and Northampton and a match against Team India (Senior Men).

Abhimanyu Easwaran will lead the team, while Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.

Dhruv Jurel has been named Easwaran's deputy for the tour, beginning May 30. India A will take on England in two matches. The first game will begin on May 30 in Canterbury while the other will start on June 6 in Northampton.

It needs to be mentioned that Abhimanyu Easwaran was a part of India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but he did not get a single game.

The India A team will play the Senior Men's side in an intra-squad match on June 13 in Beckenham. This match will take place seven days before the start of the five-match Test series between India and England in Leeds.

It is important to mention that Shubman Gill is the frontrunner to be named the next India captain. The formal announcement is expected to be made next week in Mumbai.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is expected to open the batting for India in the five-match Test series against England, is also named in the India A squad for the games against England Lions.

Karun Nair, who scored heaps of runs in domestic cricket last year, has been rewarded with a place in the A squad as well.

The 18-member squad also includes Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Akash Deep.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir arrived in Mumbai on Thursday, and according to reports, the former India opening batter was set to meet with chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.

It must be mentioned that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma recently announced their retirement from Tests.

Sarfaraz Khan also included

Sarfaraz Khan who did not get a single game in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite scoring 150 against New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test, has also been named in the squad. The batter would look to make the most of his chances to further improve his chances of making it to the main squad.

Sarfaraz Khan injured his ribs while training during the series against Australia, so he did not play the Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir either.

However, he has recovered fully and is expected to start the series against India A.

Vidarbha spinner Harsh Dubey, who finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 squad, has also earned his maiden call-up in the India A squad.

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.