New Delhi [India], October 5 : All-rounder Suryansh Shedge has been drafted into the India A squad as a replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya for the upcoming three-match one-day series against Australia A in Puducherry.
Hardik, who was named in the original India A one-day squad subject to fitness clearance, has been ruled out after failing to overcome a fresh injury concern, reported Cricinfo.
It is learnt that Hardik has not been pain-free while bowling, extending his absence from competitive cricket. The all-rounder has been away from action since suffering an injury during IPL 2026 in May.
Hardik has also not played a one-day international since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025.
Shedge, 23, provides India A with another medium-pace bowling all-round option. He has played three T20Is for India and has featured in 15 List A matches, with nearly half of those appearances coming for India A.
The Mumbai all-rounder produced his career-best List A score of 72 off 66 balls while batting at No. 7 for India A against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla in June. His innings came in a dramatic contest that eventually went into a Super Over.
There has been another change to the India A one-day squad, with left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Anukul Roy replacing Naman Dhir.
Dhir has moved into India's T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against the West Indies, taking the place of Washington Sundar.
Washington was part of India's gold-medal-winning men's cricket team at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and could instead feature for Tamil Nadu in their 2026-27 Ranji Trophy opener against Rajasthan, subject to selection.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was part of India's ODI squad for the ongoing series against West Indies, will captain India A in the three-match series against Australia A, with Devdutt Padikkal serving as his deputy.
Padikkal had led India A during the preceding red-ball series against Australia A.
Australia A have also made two changes to their one-day squad, with Riley Meredith and Will Sutherland added for the three matches.
The duo have replaced Jack Edwards and Aaron Hardie. Edwards left the Australia A setup last month to join the senior team in South Africa, where he made his ODI debut, while Hardie has been ruled out with a minor knee complaint.
The first one-dayer between India A and Australia A will be played on October 6 as a day-night fixture, starting at 2 pm local time. The second and third matches are scheduled for October 9 and October 11, with both games beginning at 9 am.
India A squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Devdutt Padikkal (vice-capt), Priyansh Arya, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Rajat Patidar, Prabhsimran Singh, B Sai Sudharsan, Anukul Roy, Arshin Kulkarni, Nishant Sindhu, Suryansh Shedge, Arshad Khan, Gurjapneet Singh, Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur.
Australia A squad: Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Riley Meredith, Todd Murphy, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachlan Shaw, Will Sutherland.