Ishan Kishan makes a return as BCCI announces India A squad for tour of Australia

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday named wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan in the 15-member India A squad that will take on Australia A in a two-match unofficial Test series between late October and early November. The team will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad. Kishan has returned to the India setup after having impressed with the bat in domestic cricket. The two-match Test series will be followed by an intra-squad match against the senior Indian Test team.

Kishan’s recent domestic form 

The 26-year-old played a knock of 111 for India C against India B during a Duleep Trophy match in September, and much recently, he scored another century for Jharkhand (101 runs) against Railways in a Ranji Trophy match in Ahmedabad. The upcoming series against Australia A will give Kishan the opportunity to make a case for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

“The Men’s Selection Committee has picked a 15-member India A squad for the upcoming tour of Australia. India A will play two first-class matches against Australia A in Mackay and Melbourne respectively and then take part in a three-day intra-squad game against Team India (Senior Men) in Perth,” the BCCI said in a statement on Monday.

When did Kishan last play for India? 

Kishan last played for India in a T20 international at home against Australia on 28 November, 2023. In December last year, Kishan, who was part of India’s Test squad that toured South Africa, opted out of the series after not being in the “right frame of mind” . He also failed to turn up for Jharkhand in domestic matches, and as a result of all this, Kishan was snubbed of a BCCI central contract earlier this year.

The Southpaw then made his competitive return in February this year, where he played in the DY Patil T20 cricket tournament in Mumbai. He also turned up for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 after that, scoring 320 runs from 14 matches in what was a disappointing season for MI as they finished in last place. Earlier in October, Kishan was named the captain of Jharkhand for the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season.

Till date, Kishan has played two Tests, 27 ODIs and 32 T20Is for India, having scored 78, 933 and 796 runs in each of the three formats respectively.

The first unofficial Test between India A and Australia A will take place in Mackay from 31 October to 3 November. That will be followed by the second Test in Melbourne from 7 to 10 November, before facing the senior Indian team in another fixture from 15 to 17 November.

The five-match Australia-India Test series will get underway from 22 November, with the first Test taking place in Perth.

India A squad for the tour of Australia: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (WK), Abishek Porel (WK), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian.