In order to get some playing time before the opening match in Perth on November 22, senior batter KL Rahul and backup keeper Dhruv Jurel will be travelling to Australia for the second "unofficial Test" between India A and Australia A, which begins on November 7 at the MCG. Jurel, who made his debut against England earlier this year, has not played since Rishabh Pant's return, while Rahul was a member of the Indian team for the New Zealand series and played the first game before being left out of the starting lineup.
The Indian team management wants to give everyone an equal opportunity to play, especially the reserves, who could be called upon at any time during a seven-week series.
According to the Indian Express, the BCCI has chosen to bolster the India A team with two additional players. Soon to depart for Australia, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel will play in the second unofficial Test match, which begins on Thursday, November 7.
Before being dropped, Rahul participated in three of the five home Test matches. Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins, both Rahul and Jurel will receive much-needed playing time. Ishan Kishan might be benched when Dhruv returns. As the Test team does not include Ishan. A week prior to the commencement of the Test series, India A was also supposed to play an intra-squad match against India, but that match was cancelled.
"I think sometimes when you play that practice match, we are travelling with a squad of 19 players and only 3 days were a lot allotted to us. And I don’t know how much workload can we get done in those 3 days in terms of getting everyone prepared," captain Rohit Sharma said at a post-match press conference of the third Test against New Zealand.
Due to personal reasons, Rohit is uncertain for the series opener; an official statement regarding him is likely to be out in the coming days. If Rohit is unable to play in the November 22 Test match in Perth, Jasprit Bumrah will captain India.
