Australia A vs India A Test 2024 begins on October 31: Get full schedule and squads

The Australia A vs India A Tests 2024 will commence on Thursday, October 31.

The first unofficial Test in the two-match series will be played at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay starting at 5:00 AM IST on Thursday.

The second and final Test will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne from November 7 to 10.

The 15-member India A squad will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad with Abhimanyu Easwaran serving as his deputy. Easwaran had an excellent start to the 2024-25 domestic season with four hundreds in his last four outings in first-class cricket.

Easwaran, who plays for Bengal in the domestic circuit, was the second-highest run-getter in the Duleep Trophy 2024 tournament with a tally of 309 runs from three matches at an average of 77.25.

The opener has also been selected in the 18-member Indian cricket team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy five-Test series against Australia starting in Perth on November 22.

With Indian captain Rohit Sharma unavailable for the series opener against Australia, the unofficial two-Test series will see Easwaran stake his claim for an entry into the senior team or the opener’s slot.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is also part of the Indian team for the Test series against Australia, will be another player who will be keen to justify his selection.

The 21-year-old all-rounder, who recently made his T20I debut against Bangladesh, scored a blistering 34-ball 74 and also picked up two wickets against them in the second T20I in Delhi earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the pace trio of Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed will also be keen to get some game time with India A before joining the senior team as travelling reserves for the five-Test series against Australia.

With Mohammed Shami still recovering after his ankle surgery and not finding a place in the 18-member senior squad, the other pacers will feel that the opportunity is right to have a go and impress the selectors.

The Australia A team will be led by South Australian Nathan McSweeney with players like Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, Todd Murphy and Scott Boland, who have played for the senior team, also in the mix.

Australia will also have to sort out their opening dilemma with four players in contention to partner Usman Khawaja in the India series. Harris, Bancroft, Sam Konstas and McSweeney will fight it out to stake their claim in the senior team.

After the two-match unofficial Test series, India A will play an intra-squad practice match with the senior Indian team from November 15 to 17 in Perth in the run-up to the first Test at the same venue on November 22.

Australia A vs India A Test 2024 schedule and live match start times

All match times are in India Standard Time (IST)

Where to watch Australia A vs India A Test 2024 live in India 

Details of the live streaming of the Australia A vs India A Test 2024 will be updated soon.

Australia A vs India A Tests 2024 squads

Australia A Test squad: Nathan McSweeney (c), Cameron Bancroft (wk), Scott Boland, Jordan Buckingham, Cooper Connolly, Oliver Davies, Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Josh Philippe (wk), Corey Rocchiccioli, Mark Steketee, Beau Webster, Fergus O’Neill.

India A Test squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (wk), Abishek Porel (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian.

Photo credit: Imago