A number of Australia’s Test hopefuls for next year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India could get good exposure when Australia A tour the country for two four-day matches and three one-day games against India A in Puducherry, later this year.
File Photo: ANI
A number of Australia’s Test hopefuls for next year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India could get good exposure when Australia A tour the country for two four-day matches and three one-day games against India A in Puducherry, later this year.
The fixtures were confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Alongside the men’s Australia A tour, Australia A women and Australia’s Under-19 men’s side will also travel to India for separate series in September and October.
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The Australia A men’s tour is expected to play an important role in preparations for Australia’s five-Test series in India beginning in Nagpur on January 21.
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Australia A had toured India during September and October last year as well, giving several fringe Test players valuable experience in subcontinent conditions. Sam Konstas scored a century in the opening four-day match, while Campbell Kellaway made 88 and Cooper Connolly contributed 70.
Nathan McSweeney was one of the standout performers, scoring 74 and an unbeaten 85 in a five-wicket defeat. In the same game, Mohammed Siraj took three wickets, while KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 176 during a successful chase of 412.
The upcoming four-day matches between Australia A and India A will be played in Puducherry from September 22-25 and September 29 to October 2. The three 50-over matches will also be played in Puducherry on October 6, 9 and 11.
Australia’s senior ODI and Test squads will be touring Zimbabwe and South Africa during the same period, with the Test series in South Africa beginning on October 9. That schedule could allow some Test specialists to feature in the first Australia A game before joining the national squad.
Australia’s selectors have used different combinations in subcontinent conditions in recent years, including fielding multiple specialist spinners during tours of India and Sri Lanka. The team has also experimented with batting roles, including promoting Travis Head to opener and using spin-specialist batters such as Peter Handscomb and Josh Inglis in the middle order.
Connolly also featured in Australia’s recent Test series in Sri Lanka as a spin-bowling all-rounder and is likely to remain in contention for next year’s India tour.
Meanwhile, the Australia A women’s side will tour India for a multi-format series for the first time since 2018. The series will include two T20s in Mohali on September 12 and 15, followed by three 50-over matches in Dharamsala on September 17, 20 and 23. A four-day game will then be played in Dharamsala from September 29 to October 2.
The Australia Under-19 men’s side will also face India’s Under-19 side in three one-day matches in Rajkot on September 18, 21 and 23 before two four-day matches in Rajkot and Ahmedabad.
India’s teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will still be eligible for the Under-19 series. He had made headlines during Australia’s previous Under-19 tour of India in 2024 by scoring a 62-ball century in Chennai as a 13-year-old.
Itinerary:
Australia A men’s tour of India 2026 (All matches in Puducherry): First four-day match (September 22-25); Second four-day match (September 29-October 2); First One-day match (October 6), Second One-day match (October 9); Third One-day match (October 11)
Australia A women’s tour of India 2026: First T20 (September 12) in Mohali; 2nd T20 (September 15) in Mohali; 1st One-day match (September 17) in Dharamshala; 2nd One-day match (September 20) in Dharamshala; 3rd One-day match ( September 23) in Dharamshala; Only four-day match (September 29-October 2) in Dharamshala
Australia U19 men’s tour of India 2026: 1st one-day match (September 18) in Rajkot; 2nd One-day match ( September 21) in Rajkot; 3rd One-day match (September 23) in Rajkot; First four-day match (September 27-30) in Rajkot; Second four-day match (October 5-8) in Ahmedabad.
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