Stylish batter Shreyas Iyer will lead India A against Australia A in the upcoming two multi-day matches, which will be played from September 16 in Lucknow. Shreyas, who led Punjab Kings to the IPL 2025 final, was recently left out of India squad for Asia Cup 2025 but the selectors have now entrusted him with a leadership role.
Notably, Shreyas’ last Test appearance for India came in February 2024 and him leading India A in the upcoming two games against Australia A will augur well for his red-ball comeback with the national team.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that India A captaincy has been opened for Shreyas to potentially be back in the Test side for the upcoming home series against the West Indies and South Africa.
“Shreyas is interesting. He was not picked for the Asia Cup, and there was a lot of backlash. Now he finds himself at the helm of India A team. Looking at the Indian team’s next few assignments, you would think that Shreyas will play two of the three formats,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel on Sunday.
“He plays ODIs, and I think he would get a chance in Tests in the upcoming series against the West Indies and South Africa. The kind of pitches there are in India, I think, he will score runs. The door has opened up for him, and nicely,” he added.
After making his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur in 2021, Shreyas has played 14 matches for India in red-ball format so far. He has 811 runs at an average of 36.86 with the help of 1 century and 5 half-centuries.
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End Of Road For Karun Nair In Test Cricket?
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also feels that Karun Nair may no longer be in the reckoning for national selection after not being picked for India ‘A’ squad for multi-day games against Australia ‘A’.
Karun made his Test comeback after eight years during the 2-2 drawn Test series in England. However, he failed to deliver up to the expectations, scoring 205 runs in four games at an average of 25.62. The right-handed batter got starts but he failed to convert them into big scores, with his lone fifty coming in the fifth Test at The Oval.
“Why has Shreyas been elevated as the captain? It is because the No.3 and No.6 slots in Tests are still open. Sai Sudharsan and Easwaran are also in the squad, but Karun Nair is not there. It is a big step because Karun asked for a second chance, and he was given that. I would say his performance was okay-okay. You can’t say that he grabbed that chance with both hands, but you can’t also say his performance was very ordinary either, that you should drop him suddenly,” said Chopra.
“He was moved up and down in the batting order, was sent at No. 3 and No. 6. Despite that, he scored a few runs, but got out in some places. I felt he would get a chance in the West Indies tour of India. Unfortunately, you might not see Karun Nair playing now. He is fit and then not picked. It seems that the selectors have decided to look past Karun Nair,” he added.