No Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians star to lead as India A squad for one-dayers against South Africa A announced

Batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not been selected for India A's unofficial ODI series against South Africa A, beginning on November 13, in Rajkot. Tilak Varma will lead the hosts, while Ruturaj Gaikwad has been appointed vice-captain as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 14-man squad on Wednesday, November 5.

Kohli and Rohit helped the Men in Blue finish the ODI series in Australia on a high, propelling the tourists to a commanding nine-wicket victory in the third game in Sydney. Rohit ended the series as the leading run-getter with 202 runs, headlined by an unbeaten 121 in Sydney. Kohli, who started the series with consecutive ducks, found form in Sydney by scoring 74*.

Both are likely to feature in the ODI series against South Africa after the Test leg, but have not been named for the A series.

India A squad for South Africa A series: Tilak Varma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (WK).

Tilak Varma performed well for India A against Australia A

Tilak Varma. (Image Credits: Getty)

Meanwhile, Tilak performed well during India A's recent unofficial ODI series against Australia A. During the second ODI of the series, the left-hander struck 94 off 122, playing an instrumental role in taking the home side to a fighting total of 246. But India A ended up losing.

The Hyderabad-born cricketer has a promising List A record, averaging a healthy 45.69 in 41 matches, with 1645 runs alongside a best of 156*. A string of good scores in the series could propel him to the senior men's ODI squad to face the Proteas.

Tilak has already established himself in the Men in Blue's T20I squad and played a steely knock of 69* in the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan earlier this year.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava