Chance for fringe players, Rohit Sharma to impress

Fringe players have a chance to prove their worth when India ‘A’ takes on Sri Lanka in the tourists’ only warm-up match ahead of the hastily scheduled One-Day International series, in Mumbai on Thursday.

The tour game, at the Cricket Club of India's Brabourne Stadium, also provides Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a fractured finger and shoulder injury, an opportunity prove his fitness and return to the side for the last two games in the best-of-five ODI series.

In the opening slot, Mahrashtra's Kedar Jadhav, a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, will be looking to impress the selectors as a good back-up option with the World Cup just a few months away.

Delhi's Unmukt Chand will also be itching to make an impression, having scored an unbeaten 79 and 101 against the West Indies in the two warm-up matches played earlier this month.

Among the all-rounders, Karnataka's Stuart Binny and Jammu and Kashmir's Parveez Rasool will strive for a good showing and return to the limited-overs’ side.

With India in need of a bowling all-rounder, the selectors, under Sandeep Patil's chairmanship, will be keenly following the duo's performances.

The match is also a good platform for youngsters -- Karnataka's Manish Pandey and Uttar Pradesh’s 'Chinaman' bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who earned the maiden call-up against the West Indies in the T20 and ODIs -- to showcase their talent and force their way into national squad.

For Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, included in the Indian ODI team in place of injured Mohamad Shami, it is a god-sent opportunity to make an impression with the new ball as well as the old and prove he is a good 'death' bowler.

The visitors, too, have a few things to look forward to in their lone warm-up game before the start of the five-match ODI series against the World Cup champions on November 2 at Cuttack.

The Angelo Mathews-led Sri Lankans will be eager to make the most of the game after being asked to step in for a series against India in place of the West Indies, who pulled out of their tour midway over a pay dispute with their Board.

The islanders haven’t had enough time to prepare for the series after being asked to play at short notice and are missing some key players, including sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who is used to the conditions in Mumbai being part of IPL team Mumbai Indians.

In the absence of some of the regular players who are recovering from injuries, this series should help test their bench strength ahead of the World Cup next year.

Mumbai’s fans will have a chance to watch Sri Lanka’s leading batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, in action for one last time as they are unlikely to be around after the February-March, 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Squads (from):

Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (Capt.), Kusal Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ashan Priyanjan, Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Lahiru Gamage, Chaturanga de Silva, Seekuge Prasanna, Suraj Randiv.

India ‘A’: Manoj Tiwary (Capt), Unmukt Chand, Manan Vohra, Karun Nair, Rohit Sharma, Kedar Jadhav, Sanju Samson, Parvez Rasool, Karn Sharma,  Stuart Binny, Dhaval Kulkarni, Jaspreet Bumrah, Manish Pandey and  Kuldeep Yadav.

Image: Kedar Jadhav bats for Delhi Daredevils during Season Seven of the IPL.
Photograph: BCCI