Chance for Yuvi to launch comeback

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The series between India A and West Indies beginning at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday may be purely of statistical relevance. But for many former India players in the squad it offers an opportunity to prove they still have the wares to display on the international circuit.

With the home series against Australia and the West Indies and the tour of South Africa later this year, there is a lot at stake for those discarded as well as the aspirants.
Hence, the three one-dayers and a standalone T20 contest over the next week will be crucial for players, especially newly anointed India A skipper Yuvraj Singh.
The southpaw, who last donned India colours in the shorter format in the home series against England in January this year, had a forgettable IPL-6 too.
In such a scenario the gritty 31-year-old cancer survivor will look to fight his way back into the ODI squad on the strength of his performance in this series.
The man himself has made his intentions clear backing his comeback plan with a training stint in France recently, which has left him leaner and fitter.
Though Yuvraj surprisingly gave a pre-event press conference the skip, coach Lalchand Rajput said, “Yuvraj is very focused and is keen to make a comeback in to the team. He has a lot of cricket left in him.”
This series also offers a lifeline for the out-of-favour Yusuf Pathan, who has failed to make an impression over the last couple of years.
Yuvraj’s side will be bolstered by the form of U-19 star Unmukt Chand, who led India A to a series win against New Zealand last week as well as home boy Robin Uthappa, who struck a fine century in the series opener.

Irfan, Praveen ruled out
The bowling department will be spearheaded by home grown talent R. Vinay Kumar who has been drafted in place of Irfan Pathan, who along with Praveen Kumar was ruled out of the series on Saturday due to injury. Punjab lad Siddharth Kaul has taken Praveen’s place in the squad.
The series is no less important for the touring side either, since a good performance here could see some of the players come back with the main team later in the year. The team marshalled by Kieran Powell includes a host of quality players like deputy skipper Veerasammy Perumal and Andre Russell who are front-runners in for a recall.
Teams
India A: Yuvraj Singh (c), Unmukt Chand, Robin Uthappa, Baba Aparajith, Kedar Jadhav, Naman Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, R Vinay Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Siddharth Kaul, Sumit Narwal, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mandeep Singh, Rahul Sharma.
West Indies A: Kieran Powell (c), Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Nkrumah Bonner, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Leon Johnson, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Andre Russell, and Devon Thomas