A host of youngsters will be looking to impress the national selectors when they turn out for India A against New Zealand A in the first of the two four-day matches at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.
India A skipper Suresh Raina, all-rounders Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja, bowlers Amit Mishra and Pradeep Sangwan, among others will be watched with more than casual interest.
Having finished runners-up to Australia A in the just-concluded three-nation One-day tournament here, the Indians would be only too keen to start afresh and make up for the rather disappointing show in the final that they lost by 156 runs.
The Indian team for the two-match contest has undergone several changes, notable omissions being openers Swapnil Asnodkar and Robin Uthappa, both of whom failed to measure up in the One-day competition, and also wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik who did not live up to the promise he had shown in recent times.
Also missing would be middle-order batsmen Subramaniam Badrinath and Rohit Sharma, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla and all-rounder Irfan Pathan, all of whom are in the Board President's team that will be taking on the touring Australians in Hyderabad from Thursday.
Despite that, the Indian team appears strong enough although in recent times, there has been a lot of gap between promise and performance.
The Kiwis, who won only one game in the recent tri-series, have brought in fast bowler Iain O'Brien, who has played eight Tests and looking to regain his spot, in place of Mark Gillespie while 19-year-old left-arm paceman Trent Boult, still to make his first-class debut, has replaced spinner Jeetan Patel.
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