Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja Set For Crucial Red-Ball Tune-Up In Final India A Match

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, along with veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, will get valuable match practice ahead of the two-Test series against New Zealand when a star-studded India A take on an injury-hit New Zealand A in the third and final four-day game beginning on Saturday. Bumrah, who last played in the Asian Games final on October 3, has been preserved exclusively for the red-ball leg of the New Zealand tour. As part of workload management, he was not included in the ongoing five-match ODI series against New Zealand. With the first Test in Wellington scheduled to begin on November 19, Bumrah will be keen to make the most of his time in the middle against New Zealand A.

India's preparation for the two-Test series has been extensive, with the majority of the Test squad getting an opportunity in the A series to acclimatise to the windy and cold conditions in New Zealand.

Having fully recovered from a hamstring injury, Prasidh has also been retained for the Test challenge. His last appearance came in the ODI against West Indies in Guwahati on September 30.

Jadeja arrived in New Zealand after playing two Ranji Trophy matches for Saurashtra, during which he claimed seven wickets and scored a century.

Having lost his place in India's ODI side, Jadeja will be eager to carry that form into the four-day game and make an all-round impact.

The first two matches of the series ended in draws.

Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel have been among the leading run-scorers in the series, while Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to form with a morale-boosting unbeaten 155 in the previous game at Hagley Oval.

Released from the ODI squad after the opening match, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is also expected to get valuable red-ball game time.

The pitches eased considerably for batting in the previous two matches.

However, if India A bat first, they may have to negotiate challenging conditions on the opening day. In the series opener, India A were bowled out for just 113 in the first innings before responding with 516 in their second outing at the crease.

From New Zealand A's perspective, the hosts will be without the services of in-form pacers Simon Keene and Fraser Sheat.

Keene suffered a Grade 2 hamstring tear, while Sheat injured his left side during the previous matches.

New Zealand A: Adi Ashok, Matt Boyle, Max Chu (wk), Danru Ferns, Dean Foxcroft, Zak Gibson, Curtis Heaphy, Rhys Mariu, Jarrod McKay, Cam Paul, Dale Phillips, Brett Randell, Tim Robinson.

India A: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Yash Rathod, R. Smaran, Dhruv Jurel (captain & wk), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Shikhar Mohan, Mukesh Choudhary, Mukesh Kumar, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Tilak Varma, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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