The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India A squads for the multi-day fixtures and one-day matches against Australia A, with all the games scheduled to take place in Puducherry. With Australia scheduled for a tour of India early next year for five Tests to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the red-ball matches looms as an opportunity for some of the youngsters to put their hands up.
IND-A vs AUS-A: Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad named captains of India A to face Australia A
Devdutt Padikkal, who has been in fabulous form in red-ball cricket of late, will captain the multi-format side. B Sai Sudharsan has been named his deputy, while some of the most notable names in the squad are Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kushagra, Narayan Jagadeesan, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge and Shaik Rasheed. Fast bowler Vijay Kumar Vyshak has been named in the squad but only subject to fitness.
India A Multi-day squad: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal [C], Sai Sudharsan [VC], Yash Rathod, Shaik Rasheed, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge, N Jagadeesan [WK], Nachiket Bhute, V Vyshak*
Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the one-day squad that has the likes of Rajat Patidar, Prabhsimran Singh, Kumar Kushagra Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Naman Dhir and Yash Thakur. The most notable presence is that of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya but he also remains subject to fitness, given the Mumbai Indians star is nursing an injury currently. Should he play in the One-day leg against Australia A, he will miss the T20I series against the West Indies that follows the one-day portion of their India tour. Pandya hasn’t played international cricket since the T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
India A One-Day squad: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal [VC], Ruturaj Gaikwad [C], Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh [WK], Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur.
Schedule of IND-A vs AUS-A
| No | Day | Date | Day (to) | Date (to) | Match | Venue |
| 1 | Tue | 22-Sep-26 | Fri | 25-Sep-26 | 1st Multi-Day | Puducherry |
| 2 | Tue | 29-Sep-26 | Fri | 02-Oct-26 | 2nd Multi-Day | Puducherry |
| 3 | Tue | 06-Oct-26 |
|
| 1st One Day | Puducherry |
| 4 | Fri | 09-Oct-26 |
|
| 2nd One Day | Puducherry |
| 5 | Sun | 11-Oct-26 |
|
| 3rd One Day | Puducherry |
