Not only will the Indian team travel to New Zealand for a two-test, five T20Is, and five-ODI series in October-November, but a shadow tour will also happen. India A will also travel to New Zealand for three multi-day matches.
These games will be played on October 24 in Lincoln, October 31 in Christchurch, and November 7 in Lincoln. The BCCI had announced the India A squad for the three multi-day games against New Zealand A under the captaincy of Dhruv Jurel. Today we will see the five India A players to watch out for in the series.
Here are the 5 India A players to watch out for in the NZ-A vs. IND-A multi-day series:
5. Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar will want to do well in New Zealand. A multi-day series, with India looking for bowlers for the two-Test series. Mukesh Kumar is a bowler who makes up for lack of speed in swing and seam, and New Zealand conditions will aid his abilities. This will mean a good performance in the NZ A series, and he might earn a recall to the Indian Test side. Mukesh has played 26 games for India, taking 32 wickets, including 7 wickets in 3 Tests.
4. Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel will captain India A in the multi-day games against New Zealand A and will aim to impress with his keeping and batting skills to make an impression to become the No. 1 choice keeper in the Indian team. Rishabh Pant has suffered an injury and might not make it to the New Zealand tour, or even if he makes it, his fitness needs to be top level. If Pant doesn’t, then Dhruv Jurel will want to impress in the New Zealand A series to go up the ladder.
3. Sai Sudharsan
After recovering from an injury sustained during the current India A series against Australia A in Puducherry, Sai Sudharsan has also been included to the India A squad. Devdutt Padikkal replaced Sudharsan in the Indian XI for the most recent Test matches against Sri Lanka. In seven Test matches, Sudharsan has amassed 383 runs at an average of 31.91, including three fifties. In order to stay in the running for the upcoming Test series and beyond, he will want to perform well with the bat in the New Zealand A series.
2. Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar will need to do well in India vs. New Zealand A, a multi-day series. It will be an audition for him, given that the Indian squad for the two-test series won’t have more than one spinner in the XI. Kuldeep Yadav might get a look in as a specialist spinner, and then there will be a fight for a spin all-rounder or a pace all-rounder in the bowling unit. Hence, if Washington Sundar does well, he might pick Nitish Kumar Reddy or Auqib Nabi in the India XI.
1. Akash Deep
Akash Deep recently made his competitive cricket return in the Ranji Trophy after recovering from a back issue that happened in the 2025 England Test tour. Akash Deep was primed as part of the three-bowler Indian pace attack, but his injury threw India’s plans awry. Then Akash Deep was the No. 1 option as the third pacer in India’s XI, but now he has competition from Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Kumar, and Auqib Nabi for that spot. All three of them can bat as well, and Akash can also. Hence, Akash will need a very good performance in the New Zealand A series for his comeback.
