Their last appearance for India was in the Champions Trophy 2025.
On Wednesday, the Senior Men’s Selection Committee announced the India A squad for the three-match one-day series against Australia A. Notably, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli did not make the squad.
India’s ODI captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not included in the India A squad, highlighting the team’s focus on giving younger players opportunities in the 50-over format.
There had been speculation that Rohit and Kohli might play the series to get match practice ahead of the Australia tour, as both have not played competitive cricket since the IPL. However, neither of them was selected for the India A team.
India A squad for 1st one-day match: Shreyas Iyer (C), Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abishek Porel (WK), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh.
For 2nd and 3rd one-day matches: Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abishek Porel (WK), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh.
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Even though Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retired from Tests and T20Is, they are still among the best ODI batters in the world. Their last appearance for India was in the Champions Trophy 2025, and since then they have only played in the IPL. Neither of them has had competitive match practice after that. The India A series could have been a perfect chance for them to return to form ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Australia in October.
Rohit has been in excellent ODI form over the past couple of years. In the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand, his crucial knock of 76 runs helped India lift the trophy. Since 2023, he has scored 1714 runs in 37 innings at an average of 48.97 and a strike rate of 117.23, including three centuries and 12 fifties. As captain he has also changed the way India starts their innings by playing aggressively at the top, giving others freedom to play their natural game. A few matches in the India A series could have improved his match readiness.
The same applies to Kohli. He has been India’s rock at No.3 and proved his value again in the Champions Trophy 2025, scoring 218 runs in five innings at an average of 54.50. Since 2023 his ODI numbers have been brilliant with 1710 runs in 34 innings at an average of 61.07, including seven centuries and 10 fifties. With such consistency, getting some game time before the Australia series would only have made him stronger.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were not picked for the India A squad, which many thought would help them prepare for the upcoming ODI series against Australia. Their exclusion has left questions about whether they will be part of the ODI squad for that series.
There is still a chance that they could be picked directly for the ODI squad because of the stature they hold, with Rohit being the ODI captain and both being key players. The selectors have not made any announcement yet, so everything depends on the final squad selection for the Australia series.
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