Dhoni, Rahane to lead India A in warm-up fixtures

[[JUGRAJ SINGH]]

Two days after relinquishing the captaincy of the limited-overs sides, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named captain of the India A team that will take on the visiting England side in the first practice game ahead of their three-match One-Day International series against India, the selection committee announced on Friday (January 6). Anijkya Rahane, the Mumbai batsman, will lead the A team in the second warm-up game.

England, who will land in India after the Christmas break following their 0-4 loss in the preceding Test series, are due to play two warm-up games, both at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on January 10 and 12.

Yuvraj Singh, who earned a recall to both the ODI and the T20I side, will feature in the first tie, which will also see veteran pacer Ashish Nehra in action, also a part of India's squad for the succeeding T20Is.

There are also spots in the team for youngsters such as Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav and Siddarth Kaul in the first warm-up, while Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan, Sheldon Jackson, Vijay Shankar and Shahbaz Nadeem among others are part of the team for the second game.

The action will then move to the ODI series, which begins in Pune on January 15.

India A team for 1st warm-up tie: Shikhar Dhawan, Mandeep Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (Captain), Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Siddarth Kaul

India A team for 2nd warm-up tie: Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Suresh Raina, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan, Sheldon Jackson, Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Parvez Rasool, Vinay Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashoke Dinda