India A shadow tours to resume post 2023 ODI World Cup amid focus on white-ball cricket 

Shadow tours by the India 'A' side, which became synonymous once Rahul Dravid took over as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), will resume post-Team India's ODI World Cup campaign in late 2023.

The 'A' side have been touring overseas alongside the senior team, according to the Future Tours Programme.

The red-ball unit, led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, recently toured Bangladesh in December 2022, right before the senior team visited the neighboring nation for three ODIs and two Tests.

They generally tour overseas to play red-ball matches, and since the senior team's focus is currently on the home series against Australia, the World Test Championship (WTC), and then white-ball cricket, leading up to the ODI World Cup to close out the year. A BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity:

"This year the focus apart from the WTC final will be on ODIs till the World Cup. Hence, the A team tours for red ball games might only happen after November. In December-January, India is going to South Africa for a full-length Test tour during the next WTC cycle. There is a high chance India A shadow tour might resume before that."

The Men in Blue will tour South Africa for an all-format tour in December 2023, which includes two Tests. The 'A' team, led by Priyank Panchal, played three Tests amid the Omicron outbreak against South Africa A on a shadow tour in December 2021, while the senior team arrived later.

The Men in Blue are also set to play a Test series in the Caribbean to kickstart their next cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. But the 'A' side will not be touring the West Indies to play a shadow series.

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India U-25 could soon revert to U-23 to bring back CK Nayudu Trophy to normalcy

The unprecedented COVID-19 hampered the domestic structure in the country, which included the CK Nayudu Trophy.

However, when things were restored to a relatively normal state, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) opted to increase the age limit to 25 to compensate players who were unable to partake due to the pandemic. A senior state unit official in the know of things said:

"Since normalcy is back and we had a full-fledged domestic season this year, the BCCI might be going back to U-23 format from next season,"

What measures should the BCCI take to strengthen the domestic framework? Let us know what you think.

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