Ishan Kishan on brink of India return after Ranji ton with Agarkar's AUS plan; Gaikwad, Easwaran find fresh competition
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Ishan Kishan, who was removed from BCCI's central contract list earlier this year due to concerns that he was 'prioritising' IPL over domestic cricket, finds himself on the brink of an India return with the selection committee slated to send the wicketkeeper-batter for the tour of Australia. The development came just hours after Ishan smashed a century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
On Day 1 of Jharkhand's second match in Elite Group D of Ranji Trophy, at the ADSA Railways Cricket Ground in Ahmedabad, Ishan scored 101 off 158, laced with 13 boundaries and two sixes as his side finished the day in 325 for two. It was Ishan's third red-ball ton since making a return to the traditional format earlier in August, having notched up the triple-figure mark in the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament and then in the second round of the Duleep Trophy last month.
According to a report in PTI, Ishan will be part of the India A squad for two four-day Tests against Australia A, as well as an intra-squad match with the Rohit Sharma-led senior India team. The two Test matches against Australia A will be held at McKay from October 31-November 3 and then in Melbourne from November 7-10.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran find fresh competition
While BCCI has yet to officially announce the squad, either Gaikwad or Easwaran will lead the India A squad amid conflicting reports that both could be considered for a national team call-up, with Rohit expected to take a break during one of the first two Tests against Australia due to personal reasons.
Although initial reports indicated Gaikwad as the more favourable option, given he has long been in the selectors' scheme of things, but Easwaran strengthened his case with centuries in four consecutive first-class matches over the last one month.
However, the two found a fresh competition on Friday after Tamil Nadu opener Sai Sudharsan smashed a double century during his Ranji Trophy match against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Sudharsan, who as well would be part of the India A squad for the tour of Australia, remained unbeaten on 202 as Tamil Nadu closed Day 1 at 379 for 1. This was his third red-ball ton in the last two months, having notched up a triple-figure score for Surrey in maiden County appearance in August, followed by a knock of 111 in Duleep Trophy.
Likely India A squad for tour of Australia: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Yash Dayal.
