New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a 15-member squad for the two multi-day matches against Australia. Shreyas will lead the star-studded team in the series, which is set to begin on September 16 in Lucknow.
Team India Test regulars such as Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishan, Dhruv Jurel and Sai Sudharsan are included in the team. Jurel will be the vice-captain and the first-choice wicketkeeper in the squad.
N Jagadeeshan and Ayush Badoni are also named in the team, while Harsh Dubey, who was the standout bowler in last season’s Ranji Trophy, is also included. KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj will be added to the team for the second match, and will replace two players in the team.
The Men in Blue are set to play two Test matches at home against the West Indies, and these two games could provide him a way back to the senior Test set-up. He was dropped from the team after a back issue and lost his place during the home series against England last year.
He had a brilliant domestic season last year, scoring 480 runs at an average of 68.57, including two centuries for Mumbai in five Ranji matches last season. Iyer last played a Test match for India in Vizag during the England tour in February 2024.
After the two multi-day games, India A and Australia A will face each other in three one-day games on September 30, October 3 and October 5 in Kanpur. According to reports, India’s ODI captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli might play these three games to prepare for the ODI series against Australia, which is set to begin on October 19 in Perth.
India A squad for two multi-day matches against Australia A
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.