Indian Board President XI vs South Africa 2015, 2-day practice match at Mumbai Preview: Ideal opportunity for youngsters to impress

The Indian Board President’s XI will take on the touring South Africans in the two-day practice match at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on October 30. The young Indian side is led by Cheteshwar Pujara, with fellow Test cricketers KL Rahul, Naman Ojha, and Karn Sharma in the side as well. The side also contains exciting young batting talent such as Unmukt Chand, Sheldon Jackson, Shreyas Iyer, and Karun Nair as well as some good bowling prospects in Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and the unheralded Nathu Singh. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Indian Board President’s XI vs South Africa 2015, 2-day practice match at Mumbai

Starting with the experienced players, Pujara carried his bat to score a crucial unbeaten 145 in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, which was also the last Test played by India. Despite that effort, it is unlikely that he will feature in the playing XI for the first Test against South Africa. He will want to score heavily in the practice match in order to make a strong case to reclaim a permanent slot in the playing XI.

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Rahul, Chand, Pujara, Nair, Iyer, and Ojha will possibly make up India’s batting line-up, with Pandya and Jayant as the two all-rounders, followed by either one of Karn or Kuldeep, Thakur, and Nathu. The Board President’s XI has some good players who will be keen to make an impression against a strong South African side. All eyes will be on Kuldeep and Iyer, who have been earmarked as future prospects for quite some time. Shreyas has been excellent so far in Ranji Trophy 2015-16, while Kuldeep has had a decent outing as well. Nathu is widely an unknown quantity, but the Rajasthan pacer is said to be quite brisk and will be keen to shock the Proteas. READ: India must figure out their bowling attack ahead of 1st Test against South Africa at Mohali

As for the South Africans, the likes of Dane Vilas, Stiaan van Zyl, Temba Bavuma, and Simon Harmer, who were not a part of the ODIs, will be looking forward to get the hang of Indian conditions. Vernon Philander and Dane Piedt have some experience of playing in India before, with the latter having a productive tour with South Africa A earlier this year.

The match will be played at the iconic Brabourne Stadium, who last hosted a Test in 2009-10, when Virender Sehwag slayed a hapless Sri Lankan bowling attack for 293. The pitch is likely to hold something in it for the bowlers, but good batsmen will be able to score a lot of runs as well. The young Indian players will look to make a mark while the Proteas will be keen on some match practice ahead of the Test series. An interesting contest awaits. READ: Virat Kohli makes batting look so easy, feels KL Rahul

Squads:

Indian Board President XI: Cheteshwar Pujara(c), Naman Ojha(wk), KL Rahul, Unmukt Chand, Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair, Sheldon Jackson, Hardik Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Nathu Singh, Karn Sharma.

South Africa: AB de Villiers(c), Dane Vilas(wk), Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma, Vernon Philander, Simon Harmer, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Piedt, Morne Morkel, JP Duminy.

Time: 09:30 IST | 04:00 GMT

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)