Shikhar Mohan earns maiden India A call-up, replaces KL Rahul

Jharkhand batter Shikhar Mohan has received his maiden India A call-up for the upcoming unofficial Test series against New Zealand A, with the announcement made on Friday (Oct 23). The 21-year-old will take KL Rahul’s place for the second and third unofficial Tests, as Rahul will be unavailable due to his selection in India’s ODI squad for the first three matches against New Zealand.

However, Rahul is available for the opening unofficial Test, which begins on Saturday (Oct 24) at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln.

Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will lead India A in the three-match series. Another Jharkhand player, Kumar Kushagra, has been named in the squad for the first two Tests as a replacement for Rishabh Pant, who was ruled out due to fitness-related issues.

Mohan made his First-Class debut for Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy last year. The left-handed batter has scored 1,109 runs in 19 innings across 12 First-Class matches.

He recently scored two half-centuries for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 final against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

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He has also made an impressive start to the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season, scoring 143 against Kerala in Jamshedpur before registering 27 and 127 in Jharkhand’s next match against Prithvi Shaw-led Maharashtra in Pune.

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During the upcoming unofficial Tests against New Zealand A, Mohan will compete with Sai Sudharsan for an opening spot alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is expected to be one of the two openers. Sudharsan has not opened for India in Test cricket but played as an opener for India A against Australia A in September.