New Delhi: The Men's Selection Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the India A team to take the field against Australia A for the upcoming home series. In this home tour, two multi-day and three one-day matches will be played, which will be hosted by Puducherry. The biggest highlight with this announcement has been the return of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has been included in the squad for the three-match ODI series.
Full schedule will be played in Puducherry
The first four-day match of this series against Australia A will be held in Puducherry from 22 to 25 September. After this, the second multi-day match will be played on the same ground from 29 September to 2 October.
The 50-over ODI series will begin after the conclusion of the longer format. The first ODI will be held on 6 October, the second on 9 October and the final ODI on 11 October in Puducherry.
Eyes fixed on Hardik Pandya's fitness
Indian team's leading all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been away from the field for a long time and is working hard to regain his fitness. Pandya, who is recovering from a thigh muscle injury, played his last competitive match in the IPL.
The selectors have given Pandya a place in the ODI team, but his final appearance on the field will be completely subject to his fitness clearance. If he is declared fully fit in time, it will prove to be a very important step towards his return to the international level.
Devdutt Padikkal and Rituraj Gaikwad will take command
The selectors have divided the responsibility of captaincy in different formats for this tour. In the longer format i.e. two multi-day matches, the reins of India A team will be in the hands of young batsman Devdutt Padikkal. Sai Sudarshan, who has returned after recovering from injury, has been given the responsibility of vice-captain in this red ball series. At the same time, in the three-match ODI series, aggressive opener Ruturaj Gaikwad will be seen leading the team, while Devdutt Padikkal will be the vice-captain of the ODI team.
Multi-Day Team: Devdutt Padikkal (captain), Sai Sudarshan (vice-captain), Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathore, Shekhar Sheed, Kumar Kushagra (wk), N Jagadeesan (wk), Shams Mullani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Prafulla Hinge, Nachiket Bhute and V Vaishakh (subject to fitness).
ODI Team: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Devdutt Padikkal (vice-captain), Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudarshan, Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Prabhasimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dheer, Hardik Pandya (subject to fitness), Gurjapaneet Singh and Yash Thakur.