CAPTAINCY SHUFFLE
File Photo: Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer. © BCCI
Shreyas Iyer will captain India ‘A’ in the three-match one-day series against Australia A from September 30 to October 5 at Green Park, Kanpur. Rajat Patidar, originally named captain for this assignment, has now been asked to lead the Rest of India squad against Ranji Trophy Champions Vidarbha in the Irani Cup, starting October 1.
The leadership reshuffle means Tilak Varma, who was set to captain the second and third games, becomes Iyer’s deputy. The rest of the India ‘A’ squad remains unchanged, with Harshit Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Arshdeep Singh joining for the last two matches post their Asia Cup commitments with the national team.
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, Abhishek 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
Akash Deep, Abhimanyu Easwaran to feature in Irani Cup
The Rest of India team led by Patidar has Ruturaj Gaikwad named as his deputy and features, among others, the likes of Akash Deep and Abhimanyu Easwaran – both of whom were part of the Test squad in England. Deep battled some injury concerns in that series while Easwaran was left waiting for his Test debut. Anshul Kamboj, who made his Test debut in Manchester, will also be part of the Irani Cup.
Their selection to the Irani Cup is a strong indicator of their potential absence from the Test squad for the West Indies series, which begins on October 2 in Ahmedabad.
Rest of India squad (Irani Cup): Rajat Patidar (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Aryan Juyal (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Yash Dhull, Shaikh Rasheed, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Saransh Jain
BCCI clarifies Iyer’s six-month red-ball break
As already reported by Cricbuzz, the BCCI has also clarified that Shreyas Iyer has sought a six-month break from red-ball cricket as he continues to work on his fitness post a back surgery and therefore was excluded from the Irani Cup squad.
“Mr Shreyas Iyer has informed the BCCI of his decision to take a six-month break from red-ball cricket. Having undergone back surgery in the UK and managed his recovery well, he has recently experienced recurring back spasms and stiffness while playing the longer format,” the BCCI release stated.
“He wishes to utilise this period to build endurance, body resilience and work on his fitness. In view of his decision, he was not considered for selection for the Irani Cup.”
© Cricbuzz
