Ankit Bawne to lead India A in first 4-day game against England Lions

Ankit Bawne, one of India's emerging players from the domestic circuit, is set to lead India A in the first 4-day game to be played against England Lions in Wayanad, beginning February 7.

The middle-order batsman, who started his List A career for Maharashtra in 2009, made news in 2012-13 when he blazed five consecutive half-centuries. Bawne has continued to impress the selectors and attracted praise from India A coach and former cricketer Rahul Dravid.

Bawne is nearing 6000 first-class runs and sits with the highest score of 258 (not out).

Wicket-keeper opening batsman KL Rahul has been selected for the squad following the lift of suspension which was imposed in the wake of his and all-rounder Hardik Pandya's misogynistic remarks at a celebrity chat show Koffee with Karan.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee picked the following for India A squad:

Ankit Bawne (C), KL Rahul, AR Easwaran, Priyank Panchal, Ricky Bhui, Siddhesh Lad, K S Bharat (WK), Jalaj Saxena, S Nadeem, Mayank Markande, Navdeep Saini, Sharadul Thakur, Avesh Khan, and Varun Aaron.