The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the India A squad for two multi-day games against Australia A in September, naming Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the side in a surprising move. India A are set to play Australia A in two matches, starting on September 16 and 23 respectively. Apart from Shreyas, a number of other senior India cricketers have been included in the squad, namely Dhruv Jurel, B Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna. Jurel has been named the vice-captain of the side.
The BCCI also announced that veteran batter KL Rahul and star pacer Mohammed Siraj will be added to the squad for the second multi-day match.
While not quite the senior side, it marks a return of Shreyas Iyer in the red-ball setup for India. With India set to play two Tests against West Indies at the start of October, this India A experience could provide Shreyas a pathway back into the senior squad.
A number of talented Indian cricketers who have impressed in domestic cricket off late have been given a spot in the India A side. This includes the likes of Ayush Badoni, Tanush Kotian, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, N Jagadeesan and Gurnoor Brar.
The two multi-day games will be held in Lucknow, after which India A will take on Australia A in three one-day matches on September 30, October 3 and October 5. The one-day games will be held in Kanpur.
Sarfaraz Khan, who is nursing an injury, missed out on the India A squad.
The squad does not feature any player involved with India’s white-ball side, which will be occupied with the Asia Cup 2025 in the same month.
Squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, N Jagadeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (VC & WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur
