IND A vs AUS A | Shreyas Iyer named captain of India A side for ODI series against Australia A

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Shreyas Iyer will lead India A in their three-match ODI series against Australia A starting on September 30. Shreyas has taken a six-month break from red-ball cricket and will now replace Rajat Patidar and Tilak Varma, who were earlier named skippers for the white-ball leg of the series.

Shreyas Iyer will lead the India A ODI side in the three-match series against Australia A, starting later this month. The BCCI’s selection committee named a 13-member squad for the first ODI before naming a separate 15-player list for the second and third ODIs, with Shreyas at the helm in all the matches.

The Mumbai batter had requested the BCCI for a six-month break from red-ball cricket and pulled out of India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A after leading the side in the first. The BCCI approved his request and appointed him at the helm of the limited-overs side in place of Rajat Patidar and Tilak Varma.

Earlier, Patidar was set to lead the A-side in the first game before handing over the reins to Tilak for the remaining games, to take over the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy. But Patidar will now leave for the Irani Trophy directly, and Tilak will deputise Shreyas in the last two games.

The Punjab Kings' opening duo of Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya find a place in the squad after impressive seasons in the Indian Premier League. Prabhsimran amassed 549 runs in 17 matches at an average of 32.29 and a strike rate of 160.52, while Priyansh struck a hundred and two fifties, making 475 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 179.24.

Riyan Parag and Ayush Badoni are the other batters in the side, with Suryansh Shedge joining his Punjab Kings teammates in the team. All-rounders Vipraj Nigam and Nishant Sindhu join leggie Ravi Bishnoi in the spin bowling department, while Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, and Simarjeet Singh will form a three-man pace attack.

The return of the Asia Cup-bound player will strengthen the India A squad for the last two games. Abhishek Sharma, Tilak, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana will join the team ahead of the second game, once the final of the continental tournament concludes on September 28. Priyansh and Simarjeet will exit the squad after the first game and will make way for the incoming quartet.

Currently, the A-side is playing against Australia A in the second unofficial Test in Lucknow. The ODI leg is scheduled to start on September 30 at the Green Park in Kanpur, with the next two games to be played on October 3rd and 5th, respectively, at the same venue.

India A squad for 1st one-day match

Shreyas Iyer (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abishek Porel (wk), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh.

India A squad for 2nd and 3rd one-day matches

Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh.