Cape Town – The South Africa A side are focusing all their attention on securing a victory when they take on their subcontinent counterparts India A in the first of three four-day encounters being hosted at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein from Tuesday.
All three matches between 23 November – 09 December will get underway from 10am daily, with the action streamed live on SuperSport’s YouTube channel.
The SA A squad features a mixture of experienced and emerging talents, with in-form players from the domestic scene given an opportunity to stake their claim for Proteas selection.
“As a side, our number one priority is to win,” according to SA A captain Pieter Malan.
“At an individual level, that means putting in performances that will help move the team forward and hopefully we can achieve that on the field.
“The selectors have put together a strong squad with a lot of experience, so I am excited to see the guys give it a go. It’s a good opportunity, we are in the middle of our season, so the guys have plenty of overs in their legs and time in the middle.
“It is always exciting playing against a quality side like India A, so hopefully we can match up well against them and win cricket matches,” Malan added.
Meanwhile, the India A skipper Priyank Panchal believes his team, that includes Delhi Capitals opening batter Prithvi Shaw and Mumbai Indians spinner Rahul Chahar, is well-balanced and sticking to their processes will help them overcome their opponents in the series.
“We have a very balanced side and following our processes correctly will get us the best results,” Panchal noted.
“It is definitely going to be an exciting tour for all of us. We have prepared very well, and we are looking forward to the series,” he added.
South Africa A squad to play India A:
Pieter Malan (captain), Sarel Erwee, Edward Moore, Raynard van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi.
India A squad touring South Africa:
Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wk), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla
IOL Sport