Shreyas Iyer IN, 11 Players OUT! Changes In India A Squad For Two Unofficial Tests Against Australia A

Last Updated:September 07, 2025, 09:17 IST

As many as 11 players from the England Lions series are ignored by the BCCI selectors for a place in the India A squad for the upcoming series against Australia A.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to X on Saturday, September 6, to announce the India A squad for the upcoming two four-day unofficial Tests against Australia A. Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer, who was not picked for the Asia Cup 2025 despite scoring 604 runs in 17 matches of IPL 2025 for Punjab Kings, will captain the India A team, and the squad also includes the likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran, who led India A in two unofficial Tests against England Lions in May-June 2025, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Khaleel Ahmed, among others.

But surprisingly there was no place for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rajat Patidar in the squad.

Jaiswal, like Iyer, is not part of India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. The left-handed batter played all five Test matches in England and also featured in the two unofficial Tests for India A against England Lions in Canterbury and Northampton.

Gaikwad was also part of the India A squad in the away series against the England Lions, and he has also scored 184 runs in the first innings for West Zone in the first innings of the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal against Central Zone. On the other hand, Patidar has crossed the 50-run mark in all three innings played so far in the Duleep Trophy 2025.

Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan, who replaced Rishabh Pant in India’s squad for the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, is included in the India A squad along with Delhi Ranji Trophy captain Ayush Badoni, who scored an unbeaten double century for North Zone in the second innings of the Duleep Trophy 2025 quarterfinal against East Zone last week.

KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj, who played all five Tests in England but were ignored for the Asia Cup 2025, will be part of the India A squad for the second unofficial Test against Australia A in Lucknow.

Here’s a look at the complete list of changes in the India A squad for the two unofficial Tests against Australia A from the last series played against England Lions in May-June 2025:

IN: Shreyas Iyer is back in the India A team after not being considered for two matches against England Lions. Along with him, Jagadeesan, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Badoni, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Yash Thakur and Siraj are also picked for the home series against the Aussies.

Sudharsan was picked in the India A squad for the second unofficial Test against the England Lions in Northampton in June 2025, but he missed the assignment along with Test captain Shubman Gill and instead travelled to England with the rest of the squad on June 6, 2025.

OUT: Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Karun Nair, Akash Deep, Tushar Deshpande, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj are 11 players who were part of the India A squad for two unofficial Tests the England Lions but are not picked for the Australia A series.

Of these 11 players, only Rana is part of India’s Asia Cup squad, and therefore he was not available for selection.

On the other hand, Sarfaraz, Ishan, Mukesh and Akash Deep are dealing with fitness-related issues. But the exclusion of Shardul, Jaiswal, Karun and Anshul, who also featured in the Test series against England, is a big surprise, along with Gaikwad.

Retained players: KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Harsh Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar and Abhimanyu Easwaran have managed to retain their place in the India A squad from the England Lions series.

India A squad for Australia A series: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (VC & WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur, KL Rahul (for 2nd unofficial Test), and Mohammed Siraj (for 2nd unofficial Test).

India A squad for England Lions series: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (VC) (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (WK), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey, KL Rahul (only for 2nd unofficial Test)

Unofficial Tests in Lucknow

The two four-day matches between India A and Australia A will be played at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The first match is scheduled to take place from September 16 to 19, and the second red-ball match will be played from September 23 to 26.

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News cricket Shreyas Iyer IN, 11 Players OUT! Changes In India A Squad For Two Unofficial Tests Against Australia A

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