NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Laxman to lead 'A' team to US

Hyderabad's stylish batsman V.V.S. Laxmam will lead the India 'A' team on its tour of the United States from September 15 to 27.

The 'A' team is scheduled to play the Australia 'A' and West Indies 'A' teams in Los Angeles from September 15.

"India will either play three one-day matches each with the Australian and West Indies teams, or five one-day matches only with the Australian 'A' team," Ajit Wadekar, chairman of the selection committee, informed newsmen after the selection committee meeting in Bombay today.

Bombay's Sameer Dighe will be the wicket-keeper, while upcoming players like Mohammad Kaif and Debang Gandhi have been included in the 15-member side. India discards Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Sanghvi and Doda Ganesh have also been included.

K.B. Pawar of Universities will be the manager of the team.

BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele informed that the team will have a five/six-day camp, in all probability at Bangalore, before it departs for Los Angeles on September 12..

He said an announcement about the coach of the team will made later. "We are in contact with certain people and after we get their confirmation, will announce the name.''

Krishmachari Srikkanth was the India 'A' coach last season. The most notable exclusion from the team is that of Reetinder Singh Sodhi, the India under-19 captain who had also performed well against the West Indies 'A' side that toured India last season.

Replying to a question, Lele said the tournament is being organised by the United States Cricket Association. "The United States Cricket Association is organising the tournament and has invited us. Who the sponsors are is not known to us; we have only accepted the invitation,'' he said.

The team:
V.V.S. Laxman (captain), Sameer Dighe (wicket-keeper), Debang Gandhi, S.S. Das, Jacob Martin, Devendra Bundela, Vijay Bhardwaj, Mohammad Kaif, S Sriram, V Shewag, Doda Ganesh, A Bhandari, Rahul Sanghvi, Harbhajan Singh.

UNI