No Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma! BCCI announces India A squad for South Africa series; Ruturaj Gaikwad vice-captain | Cricket News
The BCCI has announced the India A squad for the upcoming three unofficial one-day matches against South Africa A. Young cricketer Tilak Varma has been appointed as the captain, with Ruturaj Gaikwad serving as vice-captain for the series. However, names of cricketing stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are absent from the squad list. Former captain Shreyas Iyer will not participate in the series due to an injury he sustained during last month’s match in Sydney against Australia.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan has earned his place in the 14-member squad following his impressive performances for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy.The squad features T20 regulars, including Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana. Players like Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, and Prabhsimran Singh have maintained their positions in the team after being selected for the previous series against Australia A.The three-match series is scheduled to take place at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot between November 13 and 19.Rohit and Virat recently made their return to competetive cricket, playing for India during three ODI matches in Australia. Both players showed impressive performances.Rohit, who earned the man of the series title, had a slow start but recovered strongly. After an initial setback in the first match, he scored 73 and 121 not out in subsequent games.Virat struggled initially with ducks in the first two matches but bounced back with 74 not out in the final game.India’s men’s senior team is set to play a three-match ODI series against South Africa later this month. Some fans had expected to see Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma getting some match practice in India A colours ahead of that series. However, as it turns out, that won’t be the case.
India A squad vs South Africa A
Tilak Varma (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (wk).
