Ruturaj Gaikwad likely to lead India A on tour of Australia

NewsThe series could provide match practice, or serve as an audition, for a couple of back-up players likely to be picked in the Test squad

Ruturaj Gaikwad led the Rest of India squad during the Irani Cup this year  •  Tanuj/Ekana Cricket Stadium

Apart from Gaikwad, the 15-man squad is set to include other opening batters like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan, as India will likely need to name a reserve opener in their Test squad for the tour of Australia, with Rohit Sharma set to miss one of the first two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for personal reasons.

The matches against Australia A could provide match practice, or serve as an audition, for a couple of back-up players likely to be picked in the Test squad. Devdutt Padikkal, B Indrajith and Ricky Bhui are set to be the middle-order batters in the India A squad; Abishek Porel and Ishan Kishan the wicket-keepers; Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar the allrounders; and Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Yash Dayal the fast bowlers.

Easwaran, 29, has been part of India’s Test squad previously – in Bangladesh in 2022 – and he’s been in superb form this domestic season, scoring two hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, another century in the Irani Trophy, and beginning the Ranji Trophy season with a ton for Bengal. Sudharsan, 23, made a first-class hundred for English county Surrey in August, before scoring a century in the Duleep Trophy and a double-hundred in Tamil Nadu’s ongoing Ranji Trophy match in Delhi.

Having recovered from a hernia, 21-year-old allrounder Reddy made his T20I debut for India against Bangladesh earlier this month and is currently a reserve player in India’s Test squad for the home series against New Zealand. He is seen by India’s selectors as a promising allrounder who could improve with more experience and exposure.

India A are scheduled to play Australia A in two four-day matches in Mackay from October 31 and in Melbourne from November 7. They then play the India squad in a warm-up match in Perth between November 15 and 17 before the first Test against Australia begins on November 22.

India A squad for tour of Australia
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Yash Dayal.