No Shreyas Iyer as BCCI announces India A squad for England tour

Shreyas Iyer missed out on India A squad for the England tour.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday, May 16, 2025, announced the 18-member India A squad for the upcoming tour of England. The squad will be captained by Abhimanyu Easwaran and Dhruv Jurel has been named the vice-captain.

Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, reportedly landed in Mumbai on Thursday and was scheduled to meet with Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors. It should be noted that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli just declared their retirement from test cricket.

The India A squad will play two First-Class (FC) matches against the England Lions at Canterbury and Northampton and a match against Team India (Senior Men).

BCCI has bolstered the batting quite a lot in the India A side with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sarfaraz Khan leading the way, apart from Dhruv Jurel and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Ishan Kishan has been named the second wicket-keeper in the squad.

The board also confirmed that Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the India A squad before the second game scheduled for June 6, after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 concludes on June 3.  

Surprisingly, Shreyas Iyer, who had been in good form missed out and so did Devdutt Padikkal, as he suffered a hamstring injury in IPL 2025 while playing for RCB.

Shardul Thakur returns, a strong bowling lineup chosen

Shardul Thakur has made a comeback in India’s red-ball plans after playing his last test in December last year before an injury cost him his place and time.

The India A team also has a number of fast-bowling options. All-arounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande, and Mukesh Kumar are included alongside Shardul Thakur. 

The spin-bowling alternatives are left-arm spinners Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey, as well as off-spinner Tanush Kotian. Dubey recently earned the player of the tournament for the Ranji Trophy season.

The first FC game against England A begins on May 30 in Canterbury, with the second starting on June 6 in Northampton. After playing England A, the India A side will also be playing the senior India side in a four-day fixture from June 13.

India A squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (vice-capt, wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande and Harsh Dubey

Note: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.

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