Shreyas Iyer will lead a 15-strong India A squad in two four-day matches against Australia A later this month in Lucknow. The games, on 16 and 23 September, are the first half of a tour that also includes three one-dayers in Kanpur.
The selectors have blended experience with opportunity. Iyer, fresh from a solid Duleep Trophy stint, gets a timely chance to remind the Test panel of his red-ball credentials before the West Indies series in October.
“He’s fit again and hungry for long innings,” a BCCI selector said after the squad announcement. “These matches will tell us a lot about his rhythm.”
Nitish Kumar Reddy returns after the knee injury that curtailed his England tour. On Saturday the all-rounder delivered a lengthy spell to Sai Sudharsan and Ishan Kishan at the National Cricket Academy, convincing the medical staff he is ready.
KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj have been pencilled in only for the second match. The idea, according to the same selector, is to “ease them back into multi-day workloads without over-cooking them”. Rahul has not kept wicket since his thigh surgery but remains a middle-order option; Siraj last played competitive cricket in the Caribbean in August.
Fresh reward has gone to Ayush Badoni, whose double hundred for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy pushed his first-class average past 65. “Runs are runs,” head coach Sitanshu Kotak noted. “A big score in any first-class game still matters.”
Seam duties fall to Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Thakur and left-armer Gurnoor Brar. Prasidh, sharp in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England, continues his comeback after a lumbar stress fracture. Spin is covered by slow left-armers Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey, plus off-spinner-all-rounder Tanush Kotian.
Vice-captain Dhruv Jurel, fully over the side strain that kept him out of the Duleep semi-final, is one of two keepers alongside N Jagadeesan. Jurel’s glovework and counter-attacking style impressed in England; the management wants another look before the senior side gathers.
The Australia A trip mirrors last year’s itinerary when India A visited Brisbane. Both boards see these shadow tours as low-key yet invaluable. “They replicate Test intensity without the television glare,” Kotak said, “and that’s gold for fringe players.”
Squad: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran, N Jagadeesan (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (vice-capt, wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur; KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj *available for second match only.
Plenty of moving parts, then, but a clear brief: score runs, take wickets, and push for a place when the West Indies arrive.
