NAGPUR: Vidarbha opener Mohd. Faiz has been rewarded for his big hundred in the Challenger Trophy. On Monday, the attacking batsman has been named in one of the under-19 teams — India A or India B — for the tri-series involving Bangladesh.
“The board has told the selected players to report at Kolkata on November 23. The series will start on November 28,” said a source. “All this is being done keeping in mind the World Cup which will be played in the West Indies in January. After the tri-series, India will play the Asia Cup before flying to the Caribbean,” the source added.
Faiz, who impressed the selectors in Vinoo Mankad Trophy, will have to show his best performance to stay in contention for the big-ticket event. If Faiz plays naturally, he would certainly travel to the West Indies.
“His 145-run knock in Challengers was a glimpse of how destructive he can be at the top of the order. He needs to play 2-3 more similar knocks to go a step closer to the dream call,” the source added.
Earlier, the batsman was selected in Challengers after his crucial knocks in Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Courtesy Faiz and Danish Malewar, Vidarbha had qualified for the quarterfinals.
They both had a good chance to impress national selectors during Challengers and get into a set of probables. While Faiz made his mark, Danish could not convert his chances and is missing from the list for the tri-series.
