In a significant update, Shreyas Iyer, who had skipped the second four-day match against Australia A, will now captain India A in the upcoming three one-day matches against the same opponents from September 30 to October 5 in Kanpur. Earlier, the BCCI had named Rajat Patidar as captain for the first match and Tilak Varma for the subsequent games.
Tilak Varma as Deputy, Patidar Moves to Rest of India
While no vice-captain has been announced for the opening game, Tilak Varma, currently part of India’s Asia Cup squad in the UAE, will serve as Iyer’s deputy for the second and third matches. Patidar, fresh from leading Central Zone to the Duleep Trophy title, has been shifted to captain the Rest of India side against Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha in the Irani Cup starting October 1 in Nagpur.
“𝑺𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆-𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔,” 𝒂 𝑩𝑪𝑪𝑰 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
The India A squad will see the addition of Tilak, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh for the latter two matches, while Priyansh Arya and Simarjeet Singh exit after the first game.
Star-Studded Rest of India Squad for Irani Cup
The Rest of India team will feature top performers like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yash Dhull, and Tanush Kotian, alongside Patidar. Several players, including Abhimanyu, Kotian, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, and Manav Suthar, have previously featured against Australia A in the four-day matches in Lucknow.
Gaikwad makes a comeback after an elbow injury, having scored 184 in West Zone’s Duleep Trophy match, while Dhull enters on the back of a 133-run knock last month. Akash Deep, rested during the Duleep Trophy after his ten-wicket haul in England’s Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, will also return to competitive action.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑽𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒉𝒂,” 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉.
The spin department will be led by Saransh Jain, with Kotian and Suthar providing further options, ensuring a well-rounded team for the prestigious Irani Cup encounter.
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