Uncertainty persists over Mohammed Shami's Australia travel itinerary; Gambhir, Agarkar stay on as India A standbys

India batsman Devdutt Padikkal has been asked to remain in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as a backup player for the Indian team. Instead of returning home with the rest of the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A team on Monday, Padikkal will stay in Australia for the duration of the series.

According to a report in the PTI, the Indian team management and the selectors decided to retain Padikkal, who was part of India A squad that played two four-day matches against Australia A, before taking on the Indian team in a practice match at the WACA. However, the left-hander, who made his India debut earlier this year in the home Test series against England at Dharamsala, scoring a 65 on debut, had a rather lukewarm outing Down Under. His scores against Australia A read 36, 88, 26, 1.

The report further revealed that top-order batter B Sai Sudharsan could also be asked to stay back. He had scored a century for India A in the opening game in Mackay. "It is more to do with the familiarity with the Australian conditions as they have played here recently," a source close to the development told PTI.

Shami sparked major hopes of making an international return in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a seven-wicket haul in his first competitive appearance in a year. Playing for Bengal in Ranji Trophy last week, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, Shami picked up four wickets in the opening innings for just 54 runs and three more in the second innings, which left experts wanting him on the next flight to Perth.

However, according to a report in the Cricbuzz, BCCI has no immediate plans to send Shami to Australia. It seems that the team management wants him to play a few more domestic matches, before they are assured of his match fitness, implying that the veteran fast bowler could play in the impending Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, slated to begin in about a week.