Ruturaj Gaikwad expected to captain India A during the tour of Australia

The 15-man squad will also feature opening batsmen Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan. With Rohit Sharma expected to miss one of the first two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for personal reasons, India may need to name a reserve opener for the Test squad.

The matches against Australia A will offer valuable match practice and serve as an audition for potential back-up players for the Test squad. Middle-order batsmen Devdutt Padikkal, B Indrajith, and Ricky Bhui will join the team, along with wicketkeepers Abishek Porel and Ishan Kishan. Allrounders Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, and Manav Suthar, along with fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, and Yash Dayal, complete the squad.

Easwaran, 29, has previous experience with India’s Test squad, having toured Bangladesh in 2022. He has been in excellent form this domestic season, scoring two centuries in the Duleep Trophy, another in the Irani Trophy, and starting the Ranji Trophy season with a hundred for Bengal. Sudharsan, 23, recently made his mark with a first-class hundred for Surrey and has scored a century in the Duleep Trophy, along with a double-century in Tamil Nadu’s ongoing Ranji Trophy match in Delhi.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, a promising allrounder, has recovered from a hernia and made his T20I debut for India against Bangladesh earlier this month. He is currently a reserve player in India’s Test squad for the home series against New Zealand.

India A will play two four-day matches against Australia A in Mackay, starting on October 31. They will then face Australia A in Melbourne from November 7. Following that, India A will play a warm-up match against the India squad in Perth from November 15 to 17. 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