India vs India-A, Intra-squad game: No live telecast for fans, know why

The Indian Cricket Board has denied any media or broadcasting access to the much-talked-about India vs India-A intra-squad game starting Friday (June 13) in Beckenham. There will be no live telecast of the four-day practice game, part of the shadow tour, on any streaming platform worldwide following BCCI's instructions.

While the JioHotstar app broadcasted the previous two matches between India-A and England Lions, the fans will have no access to the India vs India-A game – Team India’s last tour match before the Test series gets underway in Leeds next week.

India-A squad reached the UK late in May to prepare and participate in the shadow tour, with several Test-team-bound players also included. While Karun Nair and all-rounder Shardul Thakur impressed the selectors with their respective quality outings, others also pressed their cases for a potential call-up to the red-ball side.

Following the IPL 2025 league stage, players who were not part of the playoffs linked up with the India-A squad for the second tour game in Northampton. Seasoned batter KL Rahul was among them, who continued his sublime touch in England, hitting a hundred and fifty in the two outings. He, however, is expected to retain his place at the top alongside attacking Yashasvi Jaiswal.

On the other hand, the remainder of the 18-man squad picked for the five-match Test series departed shortly after the IPL 2025 final. They landed in London last Saturday and began practice at the training facility of the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground, the venue for their third Test against England.

Meanwhile, under the new leadership of Shubman Gill, who replaced Rohit Sharma as the new Test captain, the team gelled together and continued to train for the marquee England series. With several indoor and outdoor practice sessions being held since and plenty more to come, the Indian Team wants to work on assembling the best XI for the series opener in Headingley.

BCCI denies permission to telecast India vs India-A game

The BCCI and the team management decided against telecasting this intra-squad match, only to keep the players and their performances under wraps before publicly announcing the playing XI for the Leeds Test.

Considering both wish to avoid any drama or talk surrounding anyone’s form, fitness or availability, this intra-squad match will be staged indoors, with only a scorecard of it available for the fans.

"June 13-16: Closed Intra squad game. No vision access to Media/Broadcast. On the final day of the squad game, a player/member of support staff will be made available to the media," BCCI said in a statement.

Meanwhile, per earlier reports, India head coach Gautam Gambhir had asked the Kent curator to prepare a Test-match-like wicket for this intra-squad game.

India-A Squad - Abhimanyu Easwaran (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (vice-captain/wicket-keeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Tushar Deshpande, Harsh Dubey

India Test Squad - Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper/vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav