BENGALURU: India a are scheduled to play South Africa A in their first four-day match of the series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday and captain Shreyas Iyer sees it as an opportunity for players to prove they are ready to make the step up.
The players are aware that a string of good scores or wickets in the series can help them grab headlines and come in the reckoning for the senior national team. Players like Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, R Samarth, Navdeep Saini and Rajneesh Gurbani were some of the prolific players during the last Ranji Trophy season.
After a good outing for India A in England recently, Mayank, Samarth, Prithvi Shaw and others will be eager to carry on that form at home as well. Iyer, who has represented India in limited-over cricket, will be looking to shine and edge closer to the India Test cap, if possible.
“About the India A tours, we always see it as an opportunity. We know that if we do consistently well in such kind of tours, we will be getting call-ups. After having performed well in the A games, I had the call. And for me, it is a great opportunity to perform in each and every game. It (India A) is one step below the main team, you just got to keep performing consistently,” said Iyer on Friday.
Iyer has not played competitive red-ball cricket for eight months. His last first-class game was in December last year. Though playing red and white ball cricket are two different things, Iyer has always taken a positive approach towards batting, and one does not see that changing in the next match.
“I am playing after a long time. I am flamboyant in my shotmaking and I always back myself. I do not think anything negative about my batting,” said Iyer.
The India A side even includes experienced campaigner Yuzvendra Chahal. The leggie has done exceptionally well in the shorter formats but is yet to play Test cricket. He does not have much experience in red-ball cricket, having played only 27 First Class matches — he last featured in December 2016. However, Iyer is banking on Chahal’s experience to shine in the four-day game.
“He will play (red-ball cricket) after a very long time.
Having a leg-spinner in the team is always good and you get a lot of turn on these tracks. They can get wickets at any time, which is an added advantage. He has the experience of having played in different conditions. Being a senior player, he could play a major role if he backs himself.”
ashim.sunam@newindianexpress.