Indian cricket team chief selector Ajit Agarkar recently got in touch with Virat Kohli regarding his ODI future but there was a ‘lack of communication’ from the player’s side, according to a report by RevSportz. Kohli has already retired from Tests as well as T20Is but the star batter was expected to make his return for India in the upcoming ODI series against Australia. However, the report claims that the ‘lack of communication’ has raised doubts about his ODI future as well and there is some ‘pessimisim’ due to the entire incident. The report added that BCCI wanted Rohit Sharma and Kohli to play a 50-over match for India A against Australia A as part of their preparation. While expectations were high considering Kohli has not played any cricket since IPL 2025, neither him or Rohit were named in the India A squad.
Meanwhile, just hours ahead of the second First-Class match between India A and Australia A, Shreyas Iyer decided to quit the team’s captaincy. Shreyas’ decision prompted the team management to name Dhruv Jurel as the India A skipper. The exact reason for his departure was not known but according to reports, the reason was a ‘personal’ one.
“Yes, Shreyas is taking a break and has returned to Mumbai. He has informed the selectors that he won’t be able to play in the second four-day match against Australia A. However, he remains in fray for a spot in the middle-order when the selectors meet to pick the squad for the West Indies series,” a Times of India report quoted a source as saying.
Iyer did feature in the first India A match against Australia A, scoring 8 and 13 runs respectively. In the match, Iyer also seemingly became a victim of poor umpiring call against spinner Corey Rocchiccioli.
Despite Iyer’s failure with the bat, India A did do well against Australia A in the last match. The team scored 531 runs after Australia put 532 on the board.
Iyer wasn’t a part of the Indian team on the tour of England, nor was he picked for the Asia Cup 2025 assignment, in the T20I format. The batter is working hard to become a pivotal member of the team in all three formats. Iyer is already a mainstay in ODI cricket for the team, having played central role in the Champions Trophy triumph last year.
However, he has found it tough to crack selection in the other two formats.
India’s next red-ball assignment comes against West Indies, starting October 2nd, the team for which is likely to be picked in the coming days.
(WIth PTI inputs)