New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) India’s newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill will not feature in the second unofficial Test between India A and England Lions, set to begin on June 6 in Northampton.

Although the BCCI had earlier announced that Gill and his Gujarat Titans opening partner B Sai Sudharsan would join the India A squad ahead of the match. However, both players will now travel directly with the senior Test squad, which arrives in England on June 6, ESPNcricinfo reported.

In contrast, KL Rahul is expected to turn out for India A after linking up with the squad on Tuesday.

The first Test of the five-match series between India and England is scheduled to begin on June 20 in Leeds.

England Lions, who fielded a relatively inexperienced side with only six Test caps in the opening game in Canterbury, are expected to be strengthened by the inclusion of all-rounder Chris Woakes for the Northampton match.

For India A, pacer Akash Deep will be available for selection. The right-arm fast bowler had been recovering from a back injury sustained after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year but was declared fit in April and subsequently played in IPL 2025 for the Lucknow Super Giants. Though he was present with the squad during the first unofficial Test, Akash mostly trained on the sidelines, bowling in brief spells during intervals across the four days.

The opening match between India A and England Lions ended in a draw on a flat and slow surface in Canterbury, offering little assistance to the bowlers. Among the standout performers for India A were Karun Nair, who struck a double hundred, Dhruv Jurel with two fifties, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, all of whom contributed quick half-centuries in the second innings.

All-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, both part of India’s main Test squad, bowled 14.5 and 28 overs, respectively, in the match and are expected to continue building their workloads in the second unofficial Test.

After the Northampton match concludes on June 9, the Indian team will play a closed-door intra-squad fixture against India A in Beckenham. Following that, the senior Test squad will head to Leeds to prepare for the series opener.

–IANS

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