The second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A got underway today at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. Surprisingly, Dhruv Jurel is leading India A in this game as Shreyas Iyer who was the captain in the previous game, pulled out of the clash at the last minute.
The exact reason for the 30-year-old's withdrawal from the match is not known yet. However, Iyer returned to Mumbai soon after deciding to quit the second four-day game against Australia A. This could be a huge blow to his ambitions of returning to the Test team for the upcoming series against the West Indies that is scheduled to start on October 2.
However, a source close to the developments insisted that Shreyas Iyer remains in selectors' plans to be picked. "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," the source said while speaking to the Times of India.
Shreyas Iyer didn't have a great outing in previous game
The previous match between India A and Australia A was also played in Lucknow and it ended in a high-scoring draw. Australia A piled on more than 500 runs in the first innings and even the hosts matched the score of the opposition. But Iyer could score only eight runs off 13 balls before being dismissed by Corey Rocchiccioli.
Iyer isn't in great touch as of now this season, having registered modest scores of 25 and 12 for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone earlier this month in Bengaluru. It remains to be seen now if Iyer gets picked in the Test squad with the middle-order spots up for grabs.
Playing XIs
Australia A (Playing XI): Sam Konstas, Campbell Kellaway, Nathan McSweeney(c), Oliver Peake, Cooper Connolly, Josh Philippe(w), Jack Edwards, Will Sutherland, Corey Rocchiccioli, Todd Murphy, Henry Thornton
India A (Playing XI): N Jagadeesan, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar
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