LUCKNOW, Sept. 16 -- Ever since Team India for the ongoing Asia Cup was named last month, discussions continue about the exclusion of Shreyas Iyer - one of the finest finds of white ball cricket in India, with some fine performances backing his claim. Many big names, including former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, criticised some selections over Iyer and averred that he should have been selected for Asia Cup. But the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel chose to fit Iyer in the India A side for the two-match red-ball series against Australia A and it means that he is one of the front-runners to make his comeback in the Test side. The selectors also ignored Iyer for the three-match one-day series against Australia A, to be played at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur from September 30, allowing the Mumbai batter to concentrate only on his red-ball performance for the time being so that he could be part of the Team India in the upcoming home Test series against West Indies, starting October 2. The move to make Iyer the captain of the red-ball team after not picking him for the shadow tour of England was a hint that he is part of the scheme of things again. Shreyas last played a Test match for India in February 2024 against England at Visakhapatnam. With Iyer leading India 'A' in red-ball cricket, he could also lead the Rest of India (ROI) squad in the Irani Trophy. In fact, Ruturaj Gaikwad led both ROI and India 'A' in whites last year. The 30-year-old is among a rare group of Indian players to score a century on Test debut. Overall, he has played 14 matches in the longest format and scored 811 runs at an average of 36.9. As far as Iyer's performance and future in the one-day cricket is concerned, undoubtedly, he is one of the top ODI players for India currently. He was the leading run-scorer for India in the victorious Champions Trophy campaign as well, and plays an important role at number four. Moreover, he is a certainty in the ODI side and will be part of the team that will tour Australia in late October. So, when Iyer takes guard as skipper of India A against Australia A on Tuesday, at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium here, staking his claim for a place in the Indian side will be very much on his mind. "This two-match series means a lot to every one, who is aiming to stake a claim for a berth in the Team India for the Test series on home turf against West Indies and South Africa so I expect everyone to put his best foot forward," India A head coach Rishikesh Kanitkar said on the eve of the match on Monday. "It's a great opportunity for Iyer too as he has his options open to make a comeback in the Indian Test squad. This series is the next step for him to do well and find a place in the Test team. Australia A are a strong side as it has many players, who are aiming to make it to the Australia side," he added. However, he refused to accept that the home team would rely heavily on spinners in the match against Australia A. "Certainly, spinners are the strong point of our team, but we have quality pacers too and we are a balanced side," said Kanitkar, adding, "Much will depend on weather here as the pitch is covered and we haven't seen it properly." When asked about stylish batter Abhimanyu Easwaran in the side, Kanitkar said that the Bengal batter has enough experience to handle the situations and he knows his job well. "He is well prepared and motivated too. He needs to challenge himself and push himself with some fine performance, and I am sure that he will get his due at the right time." Australia A's coach Tim Paine also said that the two-match series gives ample opportunity to many youngsters to push their case for a berth in the Australia side for the Ashes series later this year. "We are really excited about the tour. Obviously, we've picked a reasonably young side with an eye on the 2027 series back over here. A few of them have a chance to make it to the Australian side for the Ashes series too. It's just a great opportunity for our young Australian talented players to come and test themselves in these conditions against a really strong India A team." He also said that the series is going to be quite challenging as a number of Australia A team players have been in India at the MRF academy, and they have enough experience to handle things well. "A number of our players have been over here already this year at the MRF academy. They have experienced India more than anybody else. And now with the IPL and lots of other cricket going on there, they travel a lot, they play in different conditions," he said....