New Zealand A Team Set To Tour India In August-September; Reports

After a brief hiatus, the BCCI is set to resume the India A programme in early September, with incoming tours from New Zealand and possibly, Australia.

The India A programme will be managed by VVS Laxman and his NCA support staff group of Sairaj Bahutule and Sitanshu Kotak.

New Zealand A will arrive in India by the end of August for three four-day games and as many List A matches. All the matches are likely to be held in Bengaluru, an ESPNcricinfo report said.

It has been learnt that the BCCI is also contemplating the possibility of a pink-ball game during the series, but a final nod is awaited. Notably, New Zealand A played a pink-ball game on their previous tour to India in 2017-18. However, that game, played in Vijayawada, was a day fixture despite being played with the pink ball. If the game in the upcoming series next month does go ahead, it will be played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The New Zealand A tour is expected to overlap with the Duleep Trophy, the zonal first-class competition, which will open India's domestic calendar for the 2022-23 season. The six-team tournament will be played from September 8 to 25 in Chennai and Coimbatore.

The home series against New Zealand will be first assignment for India A since their tour to South Africa late last year, just before the national team's three-Test series in December.

"The BCCI is also understood to be in negotiations with Cricket Australia for a tour towards the end of the year - most likely in November - prior to the start of the Ranji Trophy and India's next Test assignment, which will be in Bangladesh," the report further said.

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The Bangladesh tour, consisting of two Tests, will be India's penultimate World Test Championship (WTC) assignment. They will culminate the current leg of the WTC with a four-Test series at home against Australia in February-March.