Shreyas Iyer returns as captain, 11 players dropped; Selection Sparks Debate

The BCCI has announced the India A squad for the two unofficial Test matches against Australia A, with Shreyas Iyer named as the captain. 11 players have been dropped, sparking a debate over selection.

Lucknow: The BCCI has announced the India A squad for two unofficial Test matches against Australia A. The series set to be played in Lucknow. In the series Shreyas Iyer will be lead the team, but the overall team selection has sparked surprise and debate.

Fans Surprised By Selection

Fans were earlier disappointed when Shreyas Iyer was left out of India’s main squad for the Asia Cup 2025, despite a strong IPL 2025 season where he scored 604 runs in 17 matches for Punjab Kings.

Now his appointment as India A captain is being seen as partial redemption, but the overall selection choices have again raised questions about the BCCI's selection policy.

🚨 NEWS 🚨

India A squad for two multi-day matches against Australia A announced.

Details 🔽 #TeamIndiahttps://t.co/PJI6lWxeEQ pic.twitter.com/2gqZogQKnN

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 6, 2025

These Players Miss Out

In a shocking move, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rajat Patidar have not been included in the squad. All three were in excellent form:

• Jaiswal played all five Tests against England earlier this year and performed well for India A.
• Gaikwad recently scored a brilliant 184 in the Duleep Trophy semi-final.
• Patidar crossed the 50-run mark in three consecutive innings during the same tournament.

11 Players Dropped

A total of 11 players who were part of the India A squad against England Lions has been been dropped this time. These include: Ishan Kishan, Sarfaraz Khan, Karun Nair, Akash Deep, Tushar Deshpande, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, and Anshul Kamboj.

While some, like Rana, are unavailable due to their inclusion in the Asia Cup squad.

These Players Retain

Despite the shake-up, some key players have retained their spots from the previous series:

• KL Rahul (only for the 2nd Test)
• Mohammed Siraj (only for the 2nd Test)
• Dhruv Jurel, Harsh Dubey, Nitish Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, and Abhimanyu Easwaran continue in the squad.

India A Squad

Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan, Sai Sudarshan, Dhruv Jurel (Vice-Captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurjpreet Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur, KL Rahul (2nd Test only), Mohammed Siraj (2nd Test only).