Mumbai: India’s middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, who was named as the captain of the India A team against Australia A in a two-match series of four-day games in Lucknow, will miss the the second unofficial Test against the visitors, which will begin from Tuesday, TOI has learnt. No replacement will be added to the squad.Iyer is in contention for a middle-order berth in the upcoming two-Test series against West Indies, which will begin at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from October 2.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In Iyer’s absence, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will lead the team, having earlier played deputy to Shreyas.“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 told this paper.In the first match of the series, which ended in a high-scoring draw, India made 531 for seven declared in reply to Australia A’s 532 for six declared, Iyer scored eight off 13 balls before he fell lbw to off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli. Those present at the venue say that it was a bad decision by the umpire since the ball seemed to be slipping well past the leg stump. Before that, the 30-year-old scored 25 & 12 for West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.Iyer was India’s highest run-getter in their triumphant campaign in the ODI Champions Trophy in February-March, scoring 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60, including two fifties, but was excluded from the squad for the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai.Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed will make way for Siraj in the second match. Andhra Pradesh and Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who missed the first match due to a knee injury and didn’t feature in the first match, is likely to miss the second game too as he’s yet to recover completely.
