Uthappa, Pandey likey to be named in India A squad

Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey, who had a superb run during the last Ranji Trophy season, are likely to be part of the India A squad, which will be picked on Wednesday, June 11th 2014, for the tour of Australia in July-August.

Uthappa, who also excelled for the Kolkata Knight Riders in their triumphant Indian Premier League (IPL) 7 campaign, has already been rewarded for his efforts with a place in the senior team which is touring Bangladesh for three ODIs this month.

The likes of Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Parvez Rasool, Akshar Patel, R Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma and Amit Mishra, who are also part of the squad for Bangladesh, are likely to be included in the India A squad.

India A are scheduled to play two four-day games against Australia A -- both in Queensland. They will also participate in a limited-overs quadrangular series, featuring South Africa A, Australia A, and Cricket Australia's National Performance squad.

The tour, which starts on July 6 and ends on August 2, is part of an exchange programme that has been initiated by BCCI along with Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to provide exposure to upcoming players and give them an opportunity to familiarise themselves with overseas conditions.

Schedule: July 6-9 v Aus A at Allan Border Field, Queensland; July 13-16 v Aus A at Allan Border Field, Queensland; July 20-Aug 2: Quadrangular One-Day series in Northern Territory (Marrara Oval and Gardens Oval).