Elated Sudip Chatterjee looking forward to India A opportunity (IANS Interview)

Over the moon after his India A call-up for the South Africa tour, Bengal batsman Sudip Chatterjee is hoping to learn a lot under coach Rahul Dravid.

"I cannot express how happy I am. Playing for India is a dream and this is the first stepping stone towards it," Chatterjee told IANS on Friday.

"Rahul sir has always been an inspiration and getting to work with him is great. I am so looking forward to learning from him and fine tuning my batting skills. He is a legend and I don't want to miss out on this opportunity," he added.

Dravid is the coach of both the India A and India Under-19 squads.

Chatterjee fared well during Bengal's Ranji Trophy campaign last season, aggregating 557 runs in seven matches -- the second best after skipper Manoj Tiwary's 643.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee met on Thursday to pick the India A team for the upcoming tour of South Africa to be held over July and August.

In SOuth Africa, the India A team will play a One-Day tri-series also involving Australia and two four-day matches.

India batsman Karun Nair has been named to captain the India A Test squad while Manish Pandey will be leading the One-Day team.

Chatterjee has been selected for the Test team.

"I am preparing well. You need to put in the extra yards when you know how difficult it can get in South Africa. This is my first time abroad so I don't want to leave any stones unturned," the 25-year old left-hander said.

Chatterjee added that he will be speaking to former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly before he leaves for South Africa.

"I will seek his advice. As I said this is my first tour abroad and since he is around, there is no better person to advice me on the conditions there. I know the pitches will be fast and will have carry," Chatterjee said.

(Debayan Mukherjee can be contacted at debayan.m@ians.in)

--IANS

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