Data Check: From Gill to Khaleel, all the India A players who have impressed over the last year

It’s been an action-packed last year or so for Indian cricket. Through the tours to England, Australia and New Zealand, the Asia Cup, a few homes series, and then finally the World Cup – Virat Kohli’s team had their fair share of highs and lows.

Now, it’s time to focus on the challenges that lie ahead. India may have been one of the strongest teams at the recently-concluded World Cup but the fact is that they lost in the semi-finals of a ten-team event in which qualifying for the knock-outs was the bare-minimum requirement.

The talent in the Indian squad is undeniable, but so are the chinks. Whether it’s the non-existent middle-order or the under-performing spinners, there’s plenty that needs to be looked at. And now that the mourning period for the World Cup disappointment is done and dusted, it’s time for India to begin their four-year preparation for the next edition.

While the senior team has been plying its trade in all parts of the world over the past 12 months, the second-best team in the country – India A – has also had a packed schedule. With Rahul Dravid as coach, they’ve had plenty of exposure during this period and played matches in difficult conditions.

One-dayers for India A:

England, West Indies Tri-series in England
India A, India B, South Africa, Australia at home
New Zealand away
England at home
Sri Lanka at home
West Indies away

Tests for India A:

England and West Indies in England
South Africa at home
Australia at home
New Zealand away
England at home
Sri Lanka at home

For Indian cricket to remain healthy and keep growing, it’s imperative for players from India A to keep knocking on the door and challenge those in the senior team. The fact is that there are several big names in the senior squad who are well over 30 and aren’t certainties for the next World Cup. It’s India A that will have to provide replacements who can sustain at the biggest stage.

So who are the ones that seem most likely to burst through to the Indian team? There are names one hears every now and then but who are the players that have been shown consistency away from the spotlight? Now is, perhaps, a good time to take stock of the top performers from the India A team.

[All statistics from the period between June 22, 2018, to July 22, 2019, via espncricinfo.com]

Here are the top 10 run-getters for India A in One-dayers:

Shubman Gill expressed his disappointment at not being picked for the West Indies tour and one can surely see why. The 19-year-old has been the highest run-scorer for India A over the past year. Although his conversion rate hasn’t been great, he’s managed to remain consistent and perform at home and away.

The standout batsman, though, has been Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 22-year-old, who made his first-class debut for Maharashtra in 2016, is in some form at the moment. He was included in the side for the last two series against Sri Lanka and West Indies and has grabbed his opportunity with both hands. It’s still early days but he’s definitely a player to keep an eye out for.

Among the others, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal and Ishan Kishan performed well but none of them could make a real mark and score a mountain of runs. Iyer and Kishan’s averages weren’t too impressive either.

Here are the top 10 wicket-takers for India A in One-dayers:

Khaleel Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for India A in One-Dayers over the past year. The 21-year-old left-arm seamer, who also made his senior team debut last year, showed his value as a white-ball bowler and bagged 26 wickets in 14 innings.

Deepak Chahar and Axar Patel have been impressive as well, with the latter showing promise as a batsman too. Navdeep Saini, who has earned his first senior team call-up for the West Indies tour, got 15 wickets from 11 innings but operated with a relatively high economy-rate.

Another one to look out for is Shreyas Gopal. The leg-spinner had a solid Indian Premier League season and impressed in the seven matches he played for India A as well.

Here are the top 10 run-getters for India A in Unofficial Tests over the past 13 months:

Rishabh Pant looks set to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in all formats over the coming years but if there’s one player who seems most likely to keep him on his toes, it’s Kona Srikar Bharat. The 25-year-old from Andra Pradesh has had a phenomenal run with the bat for India A and is rated highly for his glove-work too.

Bengal batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran continued to impress as well and was the second-highest run-scorer in the last year. Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari and Ravikumar Samarth showed their mettle against the red ball with consistency throughput the period.

Priyank Panchal is also in fine form at the moment. The Gujarat opener slammed a 160 against Sri Lanka ‘A’ recently and batted with a stunning average in the year gone by.

Here are the top 10 wicket-takers for India A in Unofficial Tests over the past 13 months:

As far as bowlers in red-ball cricket are concerned, it’s Mohammed Siraj who led the pack throughout. The right-arm pacer had a forgettable IPL 2019 but showed what he’s capable of in the longer format by being by far the highest wicket-taker for India A over the past year.

Saini and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem were the other regulars among the bowlers for India A. The two performed reasonably well but need to do a lot more to break into the senior Test team.

Rahul Chahar, who did well for Mumbai Indians this season, was impressive for India A as well with 14 wickets in just four innings. The leg-spinner may have achieved all this with the red ball but it was enough for him to earn a call-up for India’s T20I team for the West Indies tour.