Varun Aaron ruled out of India A's 1st 'Test'

Chennai, July 21: India A were dealt with a blow as pace spearhead Varun Aaron is ruled out of the first 'Test' against Australia A starting at the Chepauk, here tomorrow (July 22).

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Asked about his preferred first XI combination, the India A skipper intimated about Aaron's unavailability.

"I do not want to disclose the combination of the playing XI. There will be bounce and pace in the strip. Overall, if you see, Chennai wicket is always good for batting. What we need is a true wicket, where there is enough contest between bat and ball. However, Varun Aaron has viral fever and he is ruled out of the first 'Test' match."

While heat and humidity in Chennai at this time of the year, Aaron, who is a certainty in the upcoming Sri Lanka Test series, would like to get adequate rest and recover in time for the international schedule.

Replying to a question whether both Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha would be in playing XI, Pujara gave enough indication that both the spinners are likely to get a look in.

"We are going to discuss about playing both Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha. We have already had a discussion. I am going to disclose who are all going to play tomorrow. Both Mishra and Ojha are experienced players."

On giving chances to the youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Vijay Shankar, the captain said,"We will have mixture of both senior and youngsters. Obviously, we have to think about the team and need to have the right combination. Whoever fits in the team's combination will play tomorrow."

Expressing that we need to keep our plans simple, Pujara said,"We have the home advantage. Most of them haven't played on these sort of wickets. So we need to keep our plans simple. We have devised plans for individuals. We had a video session. We have plans in place. It depends on how the wicket behaves. Overall we are well prepared to take the Aussies."

PTI