Jharkhand's Shikhar Mohan, 21, added to India A squad for New Zealand tour

The BCCI has made a change to the India A squad for the tour of New Zealand. Jharkhand's 21-year-old cricketer Shikhar Mohan has been selected. He will join the India A team for the last two matches. The tour will run alongside the senior Indian team's ODI series against New Zealand.

Mohan has earned this big opportunity through consistent performances and heavy scoring in domestic cricket. His selection has brought joy to the Jharkhand Cricket Association and to sports lovers across the state.

Mohan played brilliantly in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Last season he scored 613 runs in 12 innings, including a double century. He has also made a strong start to this season. In the first two matches of the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Mohan has scored 297 runs at an average of 99. This season he played a fine innings of 143 against Kerala. He then scored 27 and 127 against Maharashtra.

Apart from the Ranji Trophy, Mohan also played well in the Duleep Trophy final in September. Playing for East Zone, he scored half-centuries in both innings against South Zone. In October, playing for Rest of India in the Irani Cup, he scored 60 in the first innings against Jammu and Kashmir.

The first four-day match between India A and New Zealand A will begin at Lincoln on October 24. The second match will be played at Christchurch and the third at Lincoln. The main Test series between New Zealand and India will then begin on November 19. Playing this series against New Zealand A will give the Indian team good preparation for the Test series. Whether Mohan gets a chance to play for India A remains to be seen. Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the first two matches because of injury.

The India A squad comprises Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, R Smaran, Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (captain, wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Akib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Kumar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathore, Mukesh Kumar and Shikhar Mohan (for the last two matches).