Top 5 players to look out for on India A's tour of Australia

While India are busy playing Tests in West Indies, the India A side will take part in a List-A series in Australia against Australia A, National Performance Squad and South Africa A. While the South African side have already spent some time in the country playing the longer formats, Indian players will have to get accustomed to conditions quickly.

India A squad which will be captained by Naman Ojha will play six matches before taking part in the first or second final depending on how their results go. The tour which goes on until September will be a good test for a side that is filled with players looking to make it to the Indian side.

Here are 5 players to look out for as India A begin their tour down under:

#5 Yuvzendra Chahal

An impressive IPL campaign with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who reached the final of Indian Premier League 2016 meant Yuvzendra Chahal got the opportunity to make his Indian debut in the series against Zimbabwe. After picking up at least one wicket in every match of the series, he will certainly arrive in Australia with plenty of confidence.

Although he picked up just one wicket on his ODI debut, he slowly grew into the series as he provided crucial breakthroughs in the middle-order. The 26-year-old finished the ODI series with six wickets while showing just how crucial leg spin can be to break partnerships and skittle the opposition's lower order.

Although he was hit for 38 runs in his first T20I despite picking up a wicket, he came back strongly in the next match as he went for just 19 in his fours, took a wicket and bowled a maiden too. Given Australia's tendency to produce pitches that aren't exactly conducive to spin bowling, it will be interesting to see how the leg spinner again.

#4 Mandeep Singh

Mandeep Singh is another name to look out for in this series. While most of the players in the squad have made it here on the back of good performances in the IPL, Mandeep Singh's case is a bit different. Despite not featuring much in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has made his way into the A team thanks to a strong showing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015/16.

The 24-year-old from Jalandhar has established himself as a hard-hitting, top-order batsman, who has represented India in both the U-19 and senior level. While it is true that he didn’t play too much in the recently-concluded IPL, he has an impressive record in last year’s Vihay Hazare Trophy to fall back on.

He finished as the tournament’s leading run scorer and got his runs at an average of 65 and a strike rate of nearly 90. And he will be hoping to continue that form Down Under.

#3 Karun Nair

While there have been plenty who have been clamoring for new inclusions into the Indian Test side, arguably the best candidate for a Test spot has been Karun Nair. Not only has the right-hander been consistent in the IPL but has also shown plenty of promise in the Ranji Trophy.

With a first-class average of 52.78, there is no surprise that his name has been mentioned as a contender for the Test side but having recently made his ODI debut, it will be interesting to see how the 24-year-old goes about his business in Australia.

With a List-A average of nearly 40 and strike rate close to 90, he has had a successful List-A career too but in foreign conditions and against some quality fast bowlers, the top-order batsman will be tested and how he fares will decide if he becomes a regular in the Indian side.

#2 Jayant Yadav

Despite playing only five times for the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League 2016, Jayant Yadav found a place in not just the Indian squad for the Zimbabwe series about also the India A side. What makes selection surprising is the amount of games he has played so far in the shorter formats.

Although he is 26, he has played just 19 List-A games in his career, 29 T20s but has played 40 first-class matches. While the wickets column don’t make for especially great reading in the shorter formats it is his economy rate that is most striking.

While playing in India is a factor, the fact that he has a List-A economy rate of under 4 and a T20 economy rate of under 6 in his career, speaks about the off-spinner’s prowess with the ball even if he isn’t an out-and-out wicket-taking option.

#1 Shreyas Iyer

If there is one name that has been consistently linked with a national call-up but has never quite made it into the squad, let alone the side, has been Shreyas Iyer. The 21-year-old has had a fairytale career so far where everything he has touched has turned to gold.

Whether it was scoring back-to-back half-centuries to help India finish fifth in the U-19 World Cup in 2014, finishing as Mumbai’s leading run-scorer with 809 runs at an average in excess of in the 2014/15 season after being promoted or winning the IPL emerging player of year award in his first season with Delhi Daredevils in 2015.

Last season in Ranji Trophy, he got even better as he scored 1,321 runs at an average of 73.38 to help Mumbai claim the title. But all of that hasn’t resulted in a call-up to the Indian side. But an impressive performance for the A team might just prompt the selectors to include him in their thoughts when they decide to pick the squad for the next series that takes place.