The Indian cricket team selectors have fixed the India A cricket team for their upcoming series against the New Zealand A cricket team in New Zealand, starting on October 24. Ahead of the much-awaited series, on October 6, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named the full squad for the India A vs New Zealand A series.
On paper, this is going to be a series between the A teams of the nations. Usually, for the A cricket team, the board mostly prefers to name those players who are not in the senior cricket team's scheme. This time, the thing is different. Ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, BCCI put a bunch of first-team cricketers in the squad.
Dhruv Jurel to lead India-A against New Zealand A
India A is scheduled to tour New Zealand in October and November 2026 to play three four-day unofficial Test matches ahead of the senior team's World Test Championship series. For these three multi-day matches, the selectors have named Dhruv Jurel as the skipper, despite placing players like KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rishabh Pant in the team.
India A squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant* [WK], Dhruv Jurel [C] [WK], Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudarsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar.
India A Unofficial Test Schedule against New Zealand A:
1st Unofficial Test: October 24 to 27, 2026, Lincoln
2nd Unofficial Test: October 31 to November 3, 2026, Christchurch
3rd Unofficial Test: November 7 to 10, 2026, Lincoln
Why is India A vs New Zealand A important ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup?
In the lead-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup, the board wants to secure a large pool of talent to maintain a well-distributed balance between the playing combination and the bench. The upcoming World Cup will be in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, with most number of matches being played in South Africa, where the pacers are expected to get a lot of movement and bounce off the decks.
This series against the New Zealand A cricket team will help the batters to adjust to the seaming, bouncy conditions. The multi-day matches will also help the players in building fitness, patience and match awareness.
Why has Dhruv Jurel been named as the captain over KL Rahul?
While at first glance handing Dhruv Jurel the captaincy over senior players like KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant sounds like a debacle, it is actually a well-thought-out move by the selectors as their focus is on creating teams across the formats for the future.
Dhruv Jurel has ample amount of experience in a leadership role for various teams and tournaments. His leadership skills first caught the eye when the keeper-batter played for the India U-19 national cricket team. Later, he was named captain of Central Zone for the 2025–26 Duleep Trophy, and he has led the India A cricket team in several matches in the past.
