IND A vs SA A 2025: Tilak Varma named India A captain for One-Day series

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will not feature in the three one-day games for India A against South Africa A, with Tilak Varma named captain of the side. Ruturaj Gaikwad returns to the squad and has been appointed vice-captain, while Ishan Kishan also finds a place in the team.

A key talking point will be the choice of wicketkeeper, as Prabhsimran Singh impressed during the three one-day games against Australia A. In that series, Shreyas Iyer captained the team in Kanpur, just before the senior squad departed for Australia. However, Iyer is currently recovering from a spleen injury sustained during the Sydney ODI.

Prasidh Krishna has been included after being dropped from the Test squad to face South Africa, with Akash Deep replacing him there. Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, currently part of the T20I squad in Australia, are both included in what looks like a formidable pace attack, considering all of them have a fair share of international experience.

The core group from the Australia A series has been retained, with particular focus on Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, who was named Player of the Series last month. Sanju Samson has not been included in the A squad. Rajat Patidar also misses out, even though he was originally named captain for the Australia A series before Iyer’s inclusion led to a reshuffle. Patidar is expected to play Ranji for Madhya Pradesh.

All three ODIs will be played at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, scheduled for November 13, 16, and 19. At the same time, another India A contingent will participate in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament in Qatar, led by Jitesh Sharma. That squad includes Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, and Ramandeep Singh.

Meanwhile, the senior Indian team will be engaged in a two-match Test series against South Africa during this period. The senior sides will then meet for a three-match ODI series starting November 30, with the A series serving as valuable preparation for both teams ahead of those fixtures.

India A’s squad for one-day team:

Tilak Varma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (WK)