Right-handed batsman Rohit Sharma, who was originally in India A squad for their first four-day match against New Zealand A, has been advised to rest, and won’t be available for the series.
“Rohit Sharma has been advised rest by the BCCI Medical Team in consultation with the team management and the All-India Senior Selection Committee. The decision was taken keeping in mind his recent workload,” said the BCCI in a statement.
While Rohit will miss the first four-dayer set to be played in Mount Maunganui from November 16-19, he will be available for the first T20I against Australia on November 21 in Brisbane.
His selection in the Test team for the Australia series was surprising enough, after having been left out of squads for the Afghanistan and England series courtesy poor performances in the longest format.
With Rohit not available for the second four-day game in New Zealand, he will be going to Australia without having played any multi-day cricket since January 2018, where he was selected for the South Africa series. His last domestic first-class appearance came more than two years ago.
He will be leaving for Australia from Mumbai on November 16.
Meanwhile, the selectors have not named Rohit’s replacement and India A team will be picked from the 14-member squad. With the seniors playing only the opening game, a separate squad was named for the second and third four-day matches.
Updated India A squad for the first four-day game against New Zealand A:
Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rajneesh Gurbani, Vijay Shankar, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper).
