Shreyas Iyer captained India A in the inaugural unofficial Test, conducted last week at Lucknow’s BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium. The Mumbai batter, however, is reportedly not going to play in the series’ second game, which starts at the same location on Tuesday, September 23.
The BCCI selectors were heavily criticised for neglecting Iyer when picking India’s side for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Additionally, he was left out of India’s Asia Cup roster. The selectors did, however, give Iyer good news when they named him captain of the India A squad for the two unofficial Test matches.
The Times of India (TOI) however reports that Iyer will not feature in the second India A vs. Australia A match. No additional players will be added to the squad since Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul have already been added to the list of players in the second game. The experienced duo was not involved in the first game.
Iyer is competing with West Indies to compete in the middle order of India in the next two-match Test series, which opens on October 2 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
“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,” a source mentioned in the report.
Iyer was dismissed for just eight runs off of thirteen balls in the opening match between Australia A and India A. He lost to Corey Rocchiccioli LBW. India A declared their first innings at 531/7 after Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel hammered hundreds in the match. The first innings score for Australia A was 532/6. Before the game concluded in a draw, the tourists finished at 56/0.
