Dinesh Karthik joins England Lions coaching staff as a batting consultant against India A | Cricket News

Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik will be part of the coaching staff as a batting consultant of the England Lions for the first nine days (10-18 January) of their trip to India.
The tour will begin with a two-day warm-up game, starting on January 12 and will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium Ground ‘B,’ Ahmedabad. The first four-day match, commencing on January 17 will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
“It’s fantastic to have Dinesh Karthik with us for a part of our prep period and leading into the first Test. I’m sure the lads will love spending time with him and benefiting from his experience of what it takes to be successful at Test level in India,” said England Men’s Performance Director, Mo Bobat.
The 38-year-old has been associated with Sky Sports and has been part of the commentary team during the World Test Championship final and Ashes held in England in 2023.

Former England cricketer Ian Bell will replace Karthik in the role on 18th January. In addition to Bell his teammate, Graeme Swann who played a crucial role in England’s Test series win over India in the tour of 2012 will be part of the coaching staff as a mentor and will stay with the team for the entire tour.
“Ian Bell and Graeme Swann have spent time around our Lions environments over the past year and will be well-placed to continue supporting the players, many of whom they already know well. They both bring fantastic experiences to their respective coaching and mentoring roles,” Bobat said.
Earlier in the week BCCI announced the India A squad in which Abhimanyu Easwaran was named as a captain.
Here are the two squads
India A: Abhimanyu Easwaran (Captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, KS Bharat (WK), Manav Suthar, Pulkit Narang, Navdeep Saini, Tushar Deshpande, Vidwath Kaverappa, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Akash Deep
England Lions: Josh Bohannon (capt), Kasey Aldridge, Brydon Carse, Jack Carson, James Coles, Matt Fisher, Keaton Jennings, Tom Lawes, Alex Lees, Dan Mousley, Callum Parkinson, Matt Potts, Ollie Price, James Rew, Ollie Robinson