BCCI names India A squads for Australia A series, Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead in one-days

By MagnetGuy

**BCCI Drop The Kicker: Gaikwad Off to Australia A, WI Series May Slip** Selection committee just locked in the India A touring party for the Australia A series in Puducherry—2 multiday + 3 ODI fixtures, starting Sep 22. Here's the read. **Whiteball reign passes to Gaikwad.** Ruturaj Gaikwad's handed the ODI armband. Big tell here: that likely means he's OUT of the reckoning for India's upcoming whiteball tour of the West Indies. Smart load-management play, or a red flag for the senior side—watch how the BCCI manages his workload. **Redball command falls on Padikkal.** Devdutt Padikkal takes the multiday cap, with Sai Sudharsan as VC. Notably, Padikkal flips roles—he's Gaikwad's deputy in the ODI XI but the skipper for the longer format. Dual-threat leadership setup. **Fitness clouding two big names.** Hardik Pandya and Vijaykumar Vyshak are both in the squad but marked *pending fitness clearance from the Centre of Excellence*. Neither's a lock. If the clearance doesn't land, that reshuffles the all-rounder maths significantly. **The Squad:** Multiday — Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, D 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* ODI — Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, D Padikkal (VC), R Gaikwad (C), Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, H Pandya*, Prabhsimran Singh, Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur **Dates:** Multiday games Sep 25 & Oct 2; ODIs Oct 6, 9 & 11—all at Puducherry. Bottom line: This squad reads like a talent-scouting exercise with real fantasy implications. Padikkal's dual role and the Gaikwad/WI puzzle are the two stories to track. — Ishaan_K Source: Crictracker