New Zealand A Team Set To Tour India In August-September; Reports

Cricket Image for New Zealand A Team Set To Tour India In August-September; Reports (Image Source: IANS)

After a brief hiatus, the BCCI is set to resume the India A programme in early September, with incoming tours from New Zealand and possibly, Australia.

The India A programme will be managed by VVS Laxman and his NCA support staff group of Sairaj Bahutule and Sitanshu Kotak.

New Zealand A will arrive in India by the end of August for three four-day games and as many List A matches. All the matches are likely to be held in Bengaluru, an ESPNcricinfo report said.

It has been learnt that the BCCI is also contemplating the possibility of a pink-ball game during the series, but a final nod is awaited. Notably, New Zealand A played a pink-ball game on their previous tour to India in 2017-18. However, that game, played in Vijayawada, was a day fixture despite being played with the pink ball. If the game in the upcoming series next month does go ahead, it will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The New Zealand A tour is expected to overlap with the Duleep Trophy, the zonal first-class competition, which will open India's domestic calendar for the 2022-23 season. The six-team tournament will be played from September 8 to 25 in Chennai and Coimbatore.

The home series against New Zealand will be first assignment for India A since their tour to South Africa late last year, just before the national team's three-Test series in December.

"The BCCI is also understood to be in negotiations with Cricket Australia for a tour towards the end of the year - most likely in November - prior to the start of the Ranji Trophy and India's next Test assignment, which will be in Bangladesh," the report further said.

The Bangladesh tour, consisting of two Tests, will be India's penultimate World Test Championship (WTC) assignment. They will culminate the current leg of the WTC with a four-Test series at home against Australia in February-March.