Sam Konstas will start his campaign to keep a Test cap in September, after being named in a 14-strong Australia A squad for two four-day matches against India A in Lucknow. The selectors, though, have been clear: this tour is more about preparing for the 2027 Test series in India than influencing this summer’s Ashes line-up.
Alongside Konstas are fellow top-order prospects Nathan McSweeney and teenager Oliver Peake. Victoria opener Campbell Kellaway also gets a seat on the plane. Recent Australia A performers Jake Weatherald, Jason Sangha and Kurtis Patterson miss out, as do experienced openers Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw. Bancroft, for context, struck 150 in an unofficial Test at Chennai back in 2015, but that past success has not been enough for a recall this time.
Selectors have already said that the opening three Sheffield Shield rounds will weigh more heavily on Ashes spots than anything that happens in Lucknow. In other words, these two matches are a dry run for 2027, when Australia are down to play five Tests in India and the top six could look very different. Usman Khawaja will be 40 by then, Steven Smith 38.
“The subcontinent provides many unique challenges and the opportunity to utilise different skills with bat and ball,” chairman of selectors George Bailey said. “We hope repeated experiences in these conditions will assist players in developing an effective method and understanding of their game for future sub-continent tours.”
Off-spinner Todd Murphy, who collected 14 wickets in four Tests on the 2023 tour, returns after missing the Sri Lanka A series because of a short county stint. Fellow offie Corey Rocchiccioli, another MRF Academy graduate, joins him. The third slow option is left-arm-spinning all-rounder Cooper Connolly, fresh from a Test debut in Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Seam-bowling all-rounders Aaron Hardie, Liam Scott and Jack Edwards add balance; Edwards is set for a maiden Australia A appearance. Lance Morris and Xavier Bartlett provide out-and-out pace, while Fergus O’Neill, last season’s leading Sheffield Shield wicket-taker, is rewarded for consistency. Josh Philippe travels as the sole wicketkeeper.
Connolly, Murphy, Hardie, Edwards and Scott will stay on for a three-match one-day leg that follows the red-ball fixtures. Final white-ball squads are expected closer to departure.
Australia A squad for India A (four-day): Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Oliver Peake, Campbell Kellaway, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Liam Scott, Jack Edwards, Todd Murphy, Corey Rocchiccioli, Lance Morris, Xavier Bartlett, Fergus O’Neill, Josh Philippe (wk).
The list carries a clear message: 2027 is already on the radar, and the selectors want their next generation comfortable in Indian conditions long before that first Test in January.
