Shikhar Mohan, the young talent from Jharkhand, has earned a spot in the India A squad, capitalising on his stellar form in the domestic cricket arena. The 21-year-old left-handed batter is set to join the team for the last two of three four-day matches against New Zealand A, slated to run alongside India’s senior squad’s limited-overs fixtures against New Zealand.
Reflecting on Mohan’s recent exploits, the numbers speak for themselves. In the previous Ranji Trophy season of 2025-26, Mohan amassed 613 runs, including a striking double-century, across 12 innings. Carrying that momentum into this season, he has already clocked up 297 runs in just two matches, boasting an impressive average of 99.00. His highlights include knocking 143 against Kerala, followed by scores of 27 and 127 in the Maharashtra clash. Beyond the Ranji Trophy, Mohan’s performance in the Duleep Trophy final was noteworthy, scoring fifties in both innings for East Zone against South Zone. Keeping the momentum, he managed a solid 60 for the Rest of India against Jammu & Kashmir in the Irani Cup.
The tour’s schedule sees India A kick off the series on October 26 in Lincoln, with subsequent matches in Christchurch and another in Lincoln. Meanwhile, the senior teams of New Zealand and India will gear up for their Test series starting on November 19.
Here’s the India A lineup for the New Zealand A encounter: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, R Smaran, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Dhruv Jurel (captain and wk), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, B Sai Sudharsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar, Rishabh Pant (subject to fitness), and Shikhar Mohan who will join for the latter two matches.
Shikhar Mohan’s inclusion offers him a worthy stage to showcase his talent internationally. Cricket enthusiasts will be keenly watching whether this promising bat can replicate his domestic success on this overseas assignment.
