![Ayush Pandey [Source: x]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1780745961314_Ayush_Pandey.jpg?type=hq)
Ayush Pandey [Source: x]
The BCCI has named a strong 15-player India A squad for the upcoming multi-day matches in Sri Lanka. Ayush Pandey was one of the players selected in the squad, where he will be led by Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
The selection marked a landmark moment in the career of Pandey, who recently enjoyed a prolific Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season for the Chhattisgarh cricket team.
A brief look at Ayush Pandey’s career
Born in September 2003 in Bihar, Ayush Pandey plays domestic cricket for Chhattisgarh. He has also played a handful of matches for the Central Zone team in Duleep Trophy.
He made his first class debut for Chhattisgarh back in December 2022 during the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season. To date, he has played 19 first class matches, having plundered four hundreds and five half-centuries in the process.
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Pandey has also played six List A games and nine T20 matches, and was part of the Chhattisgarh team in the recently-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 tournaments.
In his 19-match first class career, the left-handed top-order batter has aggregated 1,430 runs in 34 innings at a prolific average of 47.66. He has additionally registered 368 runs in 15 white-ball innings, listing two List A fifties.
Ayush Pandey’s recent form
Ayush Pandey’s prolific run for the Chhattisgarh team in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season might have prompted the BCCI to select him in India A squad. In 13 innings spanning seven matches of the tournament, the 22-year-old charted 573 runs at an astonishing average of 57.30.
The youngster listed two hundreds and two half-centuries in the process, which included an epic 183 against Delhi in Bengaluru earlier this year. He faced 357 deliveries in his marathon innings and clattered 21 cracking boundaries and a six to steer his team to a monumental 505-run total.
Pandey also registered back-to-back match-winning half-centuries for the Chhattisgarh team, doing so in December and January against Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Overall, in this year’s 50-overs tournament, he aggregated 268 in six innings at an average of 44.67.
He is currently enjoying a prolific season in the 2026 Chhattisgarh Cricket Premier League.
Dhruv Jurel to lead India A in Sri Lanka
Ayush Pandey is set to join a star-studded India A side for the upcoming two multi-day matches in Sri Lanka. The cricketer will be joining IPL stars Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dhruv Jurel as well as star domestic performers like Harsh Dubey, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur among others.
Here is a look at the entire India A squad for the two-match series in Sri Lanka later this month.
India A - Dhruv Jurel (c and wk), Sai Sudharsan, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Saransh Jain, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur, Anshul Kamboj, N Jagadeesan, Aman Mokhade, Shaik Rasheed and Zeeshan Ansari.
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