India A squads named: Padikkal, Gaikwad to captain; Hardik Pandya's return depends on fitness
BCCI names India A squads for the Australia A series, with separate captains for the four-day and one-day legs.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the India A squad for the series against Australia A. The series will feature two four-day matches and three one-day matches. Separate captains have been named for the two formats, with Devdutt Padikkal leading the four-day side and Ruturaj Gaikwad captaining the one-day squad.
Devdutt Padikkal will lead the four-day squad, with Sai Sudharsan as vice-captain. Sudharsan, who missed the Test series against Sri Lanka due to injury, will make his comeback in this series. The squad also includes Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pande and Kumar Kushagra, who impressed for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. Yash Rathod, Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian are also part of the four-day squad. N. Jagadeesan will keep wicket. The pace attack includes Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj and Prafull Hinge, who impressed with his bowling in IPL 2026.
Ruturaj Gaikwad will captain the one-day squad, with Devdutt Padikkal as vice-captain. Hardik Pandya has also been included in the squad, but he will only be able to play in the series if he passes a fitness test. Sai Sudharsan and Priyansh Arya have also been given a chance in the one-day squad. The middle order will be handled by Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra and Naman Dhir, while Prabhsimran Singh, who is currently in good form, will also be expected to perform well.
The series will begin on September 22. After the first four-day match, the second multi-day match will be played from September 29. This will be followed by a three-match one-day series, with the first match on October 6, the second on October 9, and the third and final match on October 11.
India A squad for the four-day matches: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pande, Devdutt Padikkal (captain), Sai Sudharsan (vice-captain), Yash Rathod, Sheikh Rashid, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Prafull Hinge, N. Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Nachiket Bhute, V Vaishya.
India A squad for the one-day matches: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur.
