India A Squads For Australia Series Announced- Hardik Pandya Included

Hardik Pandya playing for India (Source: AFP Photos)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday (September 9) announced two squads for the upcoming India A vs Australia A series, which will have two multi-day games and three one-day matches.

In a surprising move, Hardik Pandya has been included in India A’s one-day squad, though his participation is subject to clearance. Along with Hardik, Vijaykumar Vyshak, who has been picked for India A vs Australia A multi-day matches, will also require fitness clearance for participation.

Devdutt Padikkal Named India A Captain

On another significant development, Devdutt Padikkal will captain India A in multi-day matches. He will even work as the vice-captain in the one-day games, with Ruturaj Gaikwad being picked as captain for the 50-over leg, as confirmed by the BCCI in India A squads for Australia series.

Padikkal was in spectacular form in India's tour of Sri Lanka, scoring 328 runs across three innings, which eventually helped him win the Player of the Tournament award. He will have Sai Sudharsan as his deputy for red-ball matches, while Kumar Kushagra and N Jagadeesan have been picked as wicket-keeping options in multi-day matches.

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Kushagra made the cut in India A’s one-dayers against Australia A as well, while Prabhsimran Singh is the other option with the big gloves.

Priyansh Arya, Rajat Patidar In India A One-Day Squad

As the BCCI revealed India A Squads for Australia series, Rajat Patidar and Priyansh Arya have also been picked for India A vs Australia A 50-over matches. Both explosive batters, in all likelihood, will be in action during all three outings, which will take place in Puducherry.

Nishant Sindhu and in-form Naman Dhir are also there, along with Sai Sudharsan, Yash Thakur, Arshin Kulkarni and Arshad Khan, among others.

India A Multi-day squad: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal [C], Sai Sudharsan [VC], Yash Rathod, Shaik Rasheed, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge, N Jagadeesan [WK], Nachiket Bhute, V Vyshak*

India A One-Day squad: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal [VC], Ruturaj Gaikwad [C], Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh [WK], Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur

Note: *Subject to fitness clearance

India A Vs Australia A Schedule Details

India A will play Australia A for the first time in this series on September 22. It will begin with two four-day matches, both in Puducherry.

After that, the one-day matches will be held on October 6, 9 and 11, all at the same venue.

Previously, Australia announced their ‘A’ squad for India multi-day matches as well as one-day matches. Nikhil Chaudhary, who was born in Delhi, has been picked to return to play cricket in India.

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