Hanuma Vihari Added To India 'A' Squad For South Africa Tour

Indian middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari has been added to the India ‘A’ squad for their upcoming tour of South Africa, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Friday.

Earlier, he was not included in the Indian Senior men’s squad for the 2-match Test series against New Zealand. It wasn’t clarified as to the reasoning behind the decision but it has now been confirmed.

Vihari will be part of the ‘A’ team which will play three four-day games starting on November 23. His last match was against Australia in Sydney where he played a crucial innings to help India save the Test match on Day 5.

The Hyderabadi is expected to be the possible replacement for Ajinkya Rahane if he continues his slump in form. With India set to play an important 3-Test series against South Africa in December, it was a thoughtful move from the management to let Vihari gain some practice.

? UPDATE: @Hanumavihari has been added to the India 'A' squad for the South Africa tour. https://t.co/ISYgtlw1S1 pic.twitter.com/uy3UD1pCN5

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 12, 2021

Priyank Panchal will be the captain of the ‘A’ team. Some notable names in the squad are dashing openers, Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal, speedsters Navdeep Saini and Umran Malik, and the leg-spinning prospect, Rahul Chahar.

India ‘A’ squad for South Africa tour:

Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Hanuma Vihari, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla.

The schedule for the South Africa tour:

Tuesday-Friday, 23rd-26th Nov 2021, 1st Four-day Match in Bloemfontein

Monday-Thursday, 29th November- 2nd December 2021, 2nd Four-day Match, in Bloemfontein

Monday-Thursday, 6th-9th December 2021, 3rd Four-day Match in Bloemfontein

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