Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra opined that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma must have been asked by the selectors to play the India A series vs Australia, but the duo refused. Contrary to reports that earlier claimed that the duo may feature in the series, the India A squad announced on Sunday by the BCCI saw both stars missing. The 50-over format is the only one in which the duo of Ro-Ko are active at the moment, having retired from Tests and T20Is.
Did Ro-Ko refuse to be part of India A series?
In a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra claimed backed his logic of Rohit and Virat refusing to play, by explaining that the squad that was picked comprises of some players who are also a part of the Asia Cup and that the goal was to ensure they keep playing competitive cricket. He pointed out that under normal circumstances, no one would have expected them to play in the India A series. However, both Kohli and Sharma last played competitive cricket back in IPL 2025.
“I am sure the selectors would have asked them and they would have refused. Why am I saying that the selectors would have asked them? Considering the team that has been picked, it has even been tried to include the Asia Cup players, so that some form stays with them and they keep playing competitive games,” Chopra said.
The three-match series between India A and Australia A is scheduled to begin from September 30, with all three games to be hosted at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur. This series will serve as warm-up before the ODI series against Australia which will commence from October 19 onwards.
India A squad for the 1st match
Rajat Patidar (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh.
India A squad for 2nd & 3rd match
Tilak Varma (c), Rajat Patidar (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh.
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