Tie against India A will be a learning opportunity: Tim

Lucknow: Australia A head coach on Monday said that playing in India is one of the biggest challenge for the team and the players are looking forward to it because it will be a learning opportunity for the team. Addressing a press conference, accompanied by skipper Nathan McSweeney on the eve of the match, Paine said: "We're excited about the tour. We've picked a reasonably young side with an eye on the 2027 (Test) series in India. It is a great opportunity for our young Australian players to come and test themselves in these conditions against a really strong India A team." "In terms of our senior team, there are a few guys who are getting a bit older. I think they've still got a couple of years left. But there's no doubt for this group that we've brought," he added."It's going to be a challenge, no doubt. But again, one of the reasons for this tour is to get some experience in these conditions into our best young players in the country," Paine said.Asked if he felt there could be a couple of players who could make it to the test team in the upcoming Ashes series, he said: "Definitely. I mean, it's the Australia A team but there are players who will be in contention. Nathan McSweeney is right on the cusp. If he does well here and scores runs at the start of the domestic matches back in Australia, which isn't too far away, then there's certainly some positions in that team come late Nov that are up for grabs." "There are a number of guys, Nathan is one of them. There are a couple here and a couple back in Australia. If they start well, they're going to be right in the mix. So again, the experience and the opportunity of playing for Australia A is massive," he added.The Australian team practised in the nets for a couple of days. Asked about the preparation time, he said, "All these modern day players are really adaptable. They're used to playing in different conditions, they're used to swapping between formats really quickly."