India A are hosting Australia A for two Tests and three one-day matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released multiple squads today for the upcoming games – senior team for West Indies Tests, India A team for unofficial ODIs, and Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup match against Vidarbha. While most names were expected, there have been some noteworthy shuffles. One such change is that Abhishek Sharma was picked over Yashasvi Jaiswal for the one-day games against Australia A.
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, Abhishek Porel (WK), Priyansh Arya, and 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, Abhishek Porel (WK), Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh.
The Punjabi batter is currently a part of the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE. He is leading the run-scoring chart with 248 runs in five games.
Abhishek has earned recognition for his exploits in T20 cricket, while Jaiswal takes the same opening spot in Tests. ODI captain Rohit Sharma will continue to open the innings after his retirement in the other two formats of the game.
Comparing Abhishek and Jaiswal’s List A records, there’s a considerable gap between the two like-for-like players. The recently turned 25-year-old has 2,000+ runs from 60 outings at a strike rate of close to 100. The 23-year-old, however, has amassed 1,500-odd runs in 33 matches, at a slightly lower strike rate of 86.
Both players have adopted a fearless method of playing, irrespective of the format they specialise in.
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This raises the question of why selectors picked the T20 batter over the Test batter.
The reason is quite simple. It’s more of a scheduling conflict than statistics. India A’s second Test is underway. The one-day matches will begin on September 30. After the Asia Cup 2025 Final on September 28 in Dubai, Abhishek will be available from the second OD game on October 3 in Kanpur. Jaiswal, on the other hand, will be partaking in Tests vs West Indies along with the senior team. India will host the Windies for two matches starting on October 2 in Ahmedabad.
Next up, India will tour Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is. The selectors are likely to include Abhishek for the T20Is, but Jaiswal may not fit into the same line-up. The latter is part of the reserves for the ongoing T20 multi-national tournament. Moreover, Rohit and Virat Kohli will return to the ODI squad, taking over their opening and No.3 spots.
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