Devdutt Padikkal Retained as Backup for Senior Team, India A Set to Return Home from Australia

The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A team, in Australia for the past 20 days, is set to return home within the next 24 hours. However, Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal will not accompany the side. Following consultation with the national selectors, the team management decided to retain him as a backup for the senior team, set to compete in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. 

The decision was prompted by a few key top-order batters being unavailable for the first Test in Perth, scheduled to commence on November 22. Shubman Gill has been ruled out due to a fractured thumb, and captain Rohit Sharma remains in India for the birth of his second child - making his participation for the match unlikely. KL Rahul's participation also appears uncertain due to an elbow injury.

Despite Padikkal's scores of 36, 88, 26, and 1 in his four innings against Australia A team being not impressive enough for a spot in the senior team under normal conditions, his experience and familiarity with Australian conditions endorsed him as the ideal choice for a batting backup.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no immediate plans to send Mohammed Shami to Australia. The pacer recently returned to competitive cricket and is expected to play a few more domestic games before being considered for an India recall. This indicates that Shami might represent Bengal in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, scheduled to begin in about a week.