Shreyas Iyer led India A in the first unofficial Test, which was held last week at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. However, as per reports, the Mumbai batter will not be playing in the second match of the series, which gets underway on Tuesday, September 23, at the same venue.
The BCCI selectors faced a lot of criticism for ignoring Iyer while naming India's squad for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He was also not included in India's squad for the Asia Cup. However, Iyer did get a positive
news from the selectors as they named him as captain of the India A team for the two unofficial Test matches.
Times of India (TOI), however, has reported that Iyer will not take part in the second match between India A and Australia A. No replacement player will be added to the squad, with KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj already joining the setup for the second game. The experienced duo wasn't a part of the first match.
Iyer is in contention to find a spot in India's middle-order during the impending two-match Test series against the West Indies, starting on October 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
"Yes, Shreyas is taking a break and has returned to Mumbai. He has informed the selectors that he won't be able to play in the second four-day match against Australia A. However, he remains in fray for a spot in the middle-order when the selectors meet to pick the squad for the West Indies series," a source mentioned in the report.
In the first encounter between India A and Australia A, Iyer was dismissed only for eight off 13 balls. He was out LBW to Corey Rocchiccioli. Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel slammed centuries in the clash as India A declared their first innings at 531/7. In the first innings, Australia A posted 532/6. The tourists finished on 56/0 before the match ended in a draw.
