Days before India A’s trip to Australia, skipper Naman Ojha replaced from one-day squad

Naman Ojha confirmed he had been replaced and that he would be travelling Down Under later this month for the two unofficial Tests.

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Besides Naman Ojha, three more players have been replaced from the one-day squad. (Source: File)

TILL TWO days ago, Naman Ojha was all set to leave for Australia on August 4 to lead India A in the quadrangular one-day series to be held in Townsville and Mackay. He had even got his visa ready and had attended the strength and conditioning camp organized specially for the India A squad from July 12 to 17 at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. Then all of a sudden, the wicketkeeper-batsman was informed that he wasn’t going and was replaced by Manish Pandey. The selectors had also made three other last-minute changes to the original squad and to his bemusement, Ojha was given no reason for their sudden change of mind. He was, however, retained as skipper for the two four-day matches that India A will play against Australia A in September.

When contacted, Ojha confirmed he had been replaced and that he would be travelling Down Under later this month for the two unofficial Tests, one of which will be played with a pink ball, which will be held at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane.

“Selectors have made four changes in the team (India A) and now I will go only for the four-day matches. Mera naam hatake unhone four changes kiya hai, I was told two days ago,” Ojha told The Indian Express.

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India A will face Cricket Australia’s National Performance Squad, South Africa A and Australia A in the four-team tournament that has become an annual fixture in recent years. And on June 25, Sandeep Patil & Co. had picked a 16-member squad, which had Ojha at the helm, and announced a camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

He’s not the only one to miss out on the extended tour and be content with leaving for Australia later than scheduled. Shahbaz Nadeem, Vijay Shankar and Akhil Herwadkar are the other three who will now only be a part of the four-day squad. They have been replaced by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, batsman Mandeep Singh and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Seasoned Maharashtra batsman Kedar Jadhav, who was part of the Indian squad in Zimbabwe in June, on the other hand has been retained only for the one-day leg of the tour.

Patil, chairman of the senior selection committee, could not be contacted since he’s away for the Indian team’s Test series against West Indies, while BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke wasn’t available for comment.

Dravid to join team late

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India A coach Rahul Dravid is likely to join the team a little late on the tour as he has to be with his ailing mother. It is learnt that he will be arriving in Australia four to five days after the team lands there.

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