India's official tour of South Africa has hogged all the headlines, for good or bad, but there's also been an 'A tour' happening behind the scenes. India-A were on an unofficial tour of the "Rainbow Nation", taking on their South Africa-A counterparts and had the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur in the squad. (Cricket News)
The RSA-A vs IND-A tour saw two Test matches and both of them were ended in a draw. Here is what we learned from the forgotten A Tour:
1) Ignored Batting Stars
In the India A team, the likes of Pradosh Paul and Dhruv Jurel were amongst the runs in the two unofficial Tests but still were not called to the national side. In the case of Paul, the Odisha batter scored a brilliant 163 in the 1st unofficial Test as India A scored 417. With India national cricket team failing at Centurion, Paul's batting could be of help to Rohit Sharma and co.
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2) Failure Of Prasidh Krishna And Shardul Thakur
The likes of Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur were part of the India A side and were brilliant with the ball and bat in the series. However, the duo failed to repeat the performance for the national side as India lost the Centurion Test by an innings and 32 runs. With all to play for at Cape Town, Krishna and a doubtful Thakur, might have to go through the RSA-A vs IND-A tapes to give them some edge for the second Test.
3) Will KS Bharat Get A Game?
KS Bharath captained the India A side in the 1st unofficial Test at Potchefstroom. Bharat, who did not feature in the 2nd unofficial Test, was recalled to the Indian national side after Ishan Kishan's unavailability for the Test series. Bharat, who has been on the fringes of the Indian team, has played 5 Test matches with 129 runs to his name. With Rohit's side ringing in the changes for the second Test, Bharat might or might not get a look-in for the Cape Town Test.
With Indian cricket team set to meet South Africa in Cape Town for the second Test starting January 3, the former will look to clinch a much-needed victory and draw series level or might face the ignominy of defeat desptie hosting big stars such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
