3 players who failed to deliver for India A ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 Tests ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal

Ahead of India's five-match Test series against England, which starts on June 20, the India A squad took part in two first-class matches against the England Lions at Canterbury and Northampton. Some of the main squad players participated to get accustomed to the conditions while some youngsters got a taste of pitches in England.

Both first-class games ended in draws, but saw many players proving their merit in pursuit of progressing their respective careers. Karun Nair (254) and Dhruv Jurel (227) were the top batters while Anshul Kamboj (5 wickets) and Khaleel Ahmed (4 wickets) impressed with the ball.

However, there were some players who failed to impress in these tour games. On that note, let's take a look at three of those players who could not deliver for India A, irrespective of their presence in the main squad.

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#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal

India's opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn't make a bright start to his England tour. He garnered only 110 runs in four innings at an average of 27.50, while registering scores of 24, 64, 17 and 5.

Jaiswal's best score of 64 off 60 came in the first fixture, when he hit eight fours and two sixes. However, his performance in the second game resulted in India A getting off to a dismal start in both innings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was notably India's best batter in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle with 1,798 runs in 19 games, with four centuries. The southpaw is expected to play a key role if India manages to emerge victorious in the England series.

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#2 Harshit Rana

Harshit Rana was a part of only the first fixture during the tour games, which took place in Canterbury. The right-arm pacer conceded 99 runs off 27 overs and bagged only a single wicket. Meanwhile, he contributed 16 runs with the bat.

Rana's performance was not satisfactory, as the England Lions went on to post 587 and take a 30-run lead in the first innings. Despite his underperformance, the 23-year-old has been instructed to stay with the main squad and not return to India.

It is worth noting that Harshit Rana was part of India's squad in their recent tour to Australia, picking up four wickets in two games. Due to the presence of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep, Rana could not make it to the squad for the England tour.

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#3 Harsh Dubey

Harsh Dubey received his maiden call-up to the India A squad for the England tour. This came on the heels of the left-arm spinner finishing as the top bowler in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season with 69 scalps. His contributions helped Vidarbha to win the coveted title.

However, Dubey failed to return with impressive performances on a track which is generally not conducive for spinners. He participated in a solitary game in Canterbury and returned with figures of 1/129 off 25 overs. Dubey held an expensive economy rate of 5.16 as well.

It will be interesting to see if Harsh Dubey finds a place in India A's next assignment against Australia A in September, which takes place in India.