NEW DELHI: Shreyas Iyer has been named captain of the 15-member India A squad that will take on Australia A in two multi-day matches in Lucknow later this month. Nitish Kumar Reddy, recovering from a knee injury sustained during the England tour, has also been included.
Dhruv Jurel will serve as vice-captain, while KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj will join only for the second game, with the BCCI yet to confirm which players they will replace. The squad also features Prasidh Krishna, Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran, all of whom were part of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, along with N. Jagadeesan, who recently earned a call-up for the England decider.
For Iyer, this series offers a chance to push for a Test comeback, having last played red-ball cricket for India in February 2024 against England in Visakhapatnam. Reddy, who featured in two Tests on that tour before injury ruled him out, has returned to bowling and trained recently in Bengaluru.
Ayush Badoni has been rewarded with selection after his double-century for North Zone in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, his second in first-class cricket, taking his career tally to 1370 runs at an average of 65.23 in 16 matches.
The pace attack will be led by Prasidh, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Thakur and Gurnoor Brar, while spinners Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar and Tanush Kotian provide the spin options.
The matches will be played from September 16 and 23 in Lucknow.
India A 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 (for second match only).
Agencies