BCCI names India A squads for Australia A series, Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead in one-days

BCCI Drop The Kicker: Gaikwad Off to Australia A, WI Series May Slip

Selection committee just locked in the India A touring party for the Australia A series in Puducherry—2 multiday + 3 ODI fixtures, starting Sep 22. Here's the read.

Whiteball reign passes to Gaikwad. Ruturaj Gaikwad's handed the ODI armband. Big tell here: that likely means he's OUT of the reckoning for India's upcoming whiteball tour of the West Indies. Smart load-management play, or a red flag for the senior side—watch how the BCCI manages his workload.

Redball command falls on Padikkal. Devdutt Padikkal takes the multiday cap, with Sai Sudharsan as VC. Notably, Padikkal flips roles—he's Gaikwad's deputy in the ODI XI but the skipper for the longer format. Dual-threat leadership setup.

Fitness clouding two big names. Hardik Pandya and Vijaykumar Vyshak are both in the squad but marked pending fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence. Neither's a lock. If the clearance doesn't land, that reshuffles the all-rounder maths significantly.

The Squad:

Multiday — Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, D Padikkal (C), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Yash Rathod, Shaik Rasheed, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge, N Jagadeesan (WK), Nachiket Bhute, V Vyshak*

ODI — Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, D Padikkal (VC), R Gaikwad (C), Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, H Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh, Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur

Dates: Multiday games Sep 25 & Oct 2; ODIs Oct 6, 9 & 11—all at Puducherry.

Bottom line: This squad reads like a talent-scouting exercise with real fantasy implications. Padikkal's dual role and the Gaikwad/WI puzzle are the two stories to track. — Ishaan_K

Source: Crictracker