Shreyas handed India A captaincy for multi-day matches against Australia A; Rahul, Siraj to join squad for 2nd game

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 6 (ANI): After being snubbed from India's 15-member squad for the Asia Cup, Shreyas Iyer has been handed the captaincy mantle of India A for the two multi-day matches against Australia A, with wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel serving as his deputy.

Indian selectors and management faced widespread criticism from fans and former cricketers after Shreyas was excluded entirely and didn't even find a place in the travelling reserves. As it turns out, Shreyas will now lead India A in the two multi-day fixtures against the touring Australia A, with both fixtures set to be played in Lucknow. The multi-day matches will be followed by three one-day games, scheduled to take place on September 30, October 03, and October 05, respectively, in Kanpur.

The series will kickstart from September 16, and the second multi-day match will commence on September 23. KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj will be added to the squad for the 2nd multi-day match and will replace two players in the team after the first multi-day match. Notably, Siraj and Rahul didn't find a place in the South Zone squad for the ongoing Duleep Trophy, which raised a couple of eyebrows.

Jurel, who has been handed the vice-captaincy title, was set to lead Central Zone but was ruled out of the tournament, prompting Rajat Patidar to take up the leadership role. Tamil Nadu keeper N Jagadeesan, who was flown to London as an injury replacement for Rishabh Pant for the fifth Test against England, has impressed with his recent outings.

On the second day of the first semi-final, the 29-year-old spearheaded South Zone's batting attack against North Zone in the semi-final being played on Ground 1 of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence. He nullified the threat posed by Anshul Kamboj and the in-form Auqib Nabi, but suffered an agonising fate.

Nishant Sandhu had him run out, forcing Jagadeesan to return to the dressing room on 197(352). He previously fell short of the mark during his first attempt when he was caught 17 short of a double ton in 2020.

Sai Sudharsan, who made his Test debut for India during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, has been included in the 15-member list. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was added to India's roster for the tour of England, returned without his maiden cap. He led East Zone in the Duleep Trophy but saw his side crash out of the tournament in the playoffs.

Devdutt Padikkal played a composed knock for South Zone in the semi-finals of the Duleep Trophy with a knock of 57(71). Nitish Kumar Reddy, who sustained an injury during the England tour and was ruled out of the remainder of the two Tests, has been thrown into the mix.

The pace bowling department comprises Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Khaleel Ahmed. Tanush Kotian will lead the spin department, along with Manav Suthar and Yash Thakur. Kotian impressed with his all-around skills, walloping 76(166) with the bat against West Zone in the ongoing semi-finals. Meanwhile, Khaleel has struck twice for Central Zone in 15 overs.

India A squad: 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. (ANI)

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