Australia A are on the tour of India and locking horns with the India A cricket team. Both teams have already squared off in the first unofficial Test match.
Shreyas Iyer is leading the home team in the red-ball series. Nathan McSweenery is captaining the visitors in unofficial Tests. The first unofficial Test in Lucknow was a run-fest and both teams breached the 500-run mark. Devdutt Padikkal was the top scorer in the fixture and sent a message to the selectors before the home series against West Indies.
Padikkal, who was part of Team India in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, slammed 150 off 281 balls. The left-handed batsman added 228 runs for the fifth wicket with Dhruv Jurel.
Padikkal, who made his Test debut against England early in 2024, was dropped from Team India after the Australia tour. He has sent a timely reminder to the selectors before the home Test series against West Indies. The squad for the series is likely to be announced in the next few days.
Jurel also shone with the bat and scored a brilliant 140 off 197 balls. He is assisting Iyer in the red-ball series. Narayan Jagadeesan, who was called up to replace Rishabh Pant for the fifth Test against England, scored 64 while Sai Sudharsan played a 73-run knock.
Jagadeesan could retain his spot in the Test squad if Pant isn’t fit for the WI series. Jurel will once again keep wickets if the India Test vice-captain isn’t part of the Test squad.
Talking of the fixture, Australia A put on a huge total of 532 on the board. India A declared their innings at 531/7. Australia A were 56/0 after 16 overs when the match ended in a draw. The 2nd unofficial Test match will be played from September 23 to 26. KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj will join the squad before the game.