Asia Cup: BCCI sends five India A bowlers to UAE for quality net sessions

The BCCI has sent five India A bowlers to help the senior team during the net sessions ahead of the Asia Cup, starting in Dubai on Saturday.

Three pacers—Avesh Khan of Madhya Pradesh, M Prasidh Krishna of Karnataka and Siddarth Kaul of Punjab—along with left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and leg-spinner Mayank Markande will be bowling at the nets for the next three days.

Save Avesh, the other four were a part of the India A and B squads in the recently concluded Quadrangular series which also had A teams from Australia and South Africa.

Kaul was also a part of the senior team during the limited overs leg of the UK tour.

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However, with the Vijay Hazare Trophy (National One-Dayers) starting from September 19, it is expected that the players will be sent back on time to represent their state teams.

“Not everywhere do you get quality net bowlers and it becomes a problem for the senior team during practice sessions. With back to back games, you don’t expect a Bhuvneshwar Kumar or a Jasprit Bumrah to bowl flat out at the nets. Also, the young academy bowlers at times can’t provide quality practice. Hence, we have got some of our next line of bowlers,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on Friday.

“This is a process that proves to be mutually beneficial for the team. While senior batsmen get quality practice, someone like a Mayank Markande can learn a lot by bowling at the India nets. Also, the senior players and the coaches can only keep a tab on the talent pool,” he added.

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The process was started before the tour of South Africa when the likes of Avesh, Basil Thampi were sent to South Africa for net sessions.

The BCCI has also arranged for a left-arm throwdown expert from Sri Lanka named Nuwan Seneviratne, with specific aim of tackling Mohammed Aamir’s fast paced incoming deliveries.

Around 10 members Indian team under stand-in-skipper Rohit Sharma had their first net session on Friday.

The ones who were a part of the England Test series are expected to arrive on Sunday evening and join the training on the eve of the Hong Kong match on Monday.

India start their Asia Cup campaign against qualifiers Hong Kong on September 18, followed by their encounter against arch rivals Pakistan on September 19.