Padikkal, Gaikwad to lead India A vs Australia A

• India A squad announced for home series against Australia A
• Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad to captain multi-day and ODI units
• Hardik Pandya's return is subject to fitness clearance for the series

The Men’s Selection Committee has selected the India A squad for the upcoming home series against Australia A, comprising two multi-day matches and three one-day games in Puducherry. The series set to

begin on September 22 with two Multi-Day games will see Devdutt Padikkal donning the captainship hat. Padikkal’s last India assignment came during the Sri Lanka Test series. During the tour, Padikkal played incredible knocks of 167 and 44 in the first game and 117 in the second game to bag the Player of the Series Award. Not only this, but earlier during the practice match, he had recorded a ton as well.

On the other hand, India A’s One-Day squad will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been missing action in senior’s side. However, he was a part of the India A Tour of Sri Lanka A in June-July this year. Apart from them, star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is set to return to action. However, his inclusion is subject to fitness clearance. Pandya has been out of competitive cricket since IPL 2026. Needless to say, his inclusion in the squad comes as a great boost for the Men in Blue for upcoming assignments.

India A Squad for Australia A Series

India A Multi-day squad: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt 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*

India A One-Day squad: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal [VC], Ruturaj Gaikwad [C], Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh [WK], Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur

Note: *Subject to fitness clearance

No	Day	Date	Day (to)	Date (to)	Match	Venue
1	Tue	22-Sep-26	Fri	25-Sep-26	1st Multi-Day	Puducherry
2	Tue	29-Sep-26	Fri	02-Oct-26	2nd Multi-Day	Puducherry
3	Tue	06-Oct-26			1st One Day	Puducherry
4	Fri	09-Oct-26			2nd One Day	Puducherry
5	Sun	11-Oct-26			3rd One Day	Puducherry

With Inputs from Press Release