Ishan Kishan has returned to the India set up with the Jharkhand wicket-keeper batter finding a place in the 15-man 'A' squad that will tour Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (More Cricket News)
The 15-member squad was announced on Monday with Ruturaj Gaikwad appointed the captain of the side. Gaikwad is currently leading Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy and led Chennai Super Kings in this year's Indian Premier League.
India A will play two first-class matches against Australia A in Mackay and Melbourne and then take part in a three-day intra-squad game against the senior India team in Perth.
In-form Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran is the vice captain of the side. With captain Rohit Sharma set to miss one of the first two matches of the five-Test series, Easwaran is the front-runner to fill in as a reserve opener. Sai Sudharsan has also found a place in the India A squad and the left-hander alongside captain Gaikwad will also stake claim for the reserve opener's role in the senior team.
Rohit is likely to miss a match in the India-Australia series due to personal reasons.
Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui and Baba Indrajith are the other batters in the side. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made his India debut in the Bangladesh T20I series, is also in the squad.
Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal and Navdeep Saini are the fast bowlers who have made the cut in the 15-member side. Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar are the two spinners who will be with the team.
Bengal's Abhishek Porel is the other wicket-keeper in the team besides Kishan.
Kishan, who was dropped from the BCCI central contracts earlier this year due to concerns that he was "prioritising" the cash-rich Indian Premier League over domestic cricket, made his return to the India A setup.
Kishan was last part of the India squad during the tour of South Africa in 2023, which he had left midway.
The batter had reportedly taken a personal break which did not go down well with the BCCI.
After the player decided to skip the domestic competitions in the run-up to the IPL, the BCCI dropped him from the central contract.
India A squad for the tour of Australia
Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-captain), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (WK), Abishek Porel (WK), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian.
(With PTI Inputs)
