Gautam Gambhir to lead India A against Australia in warm up game

Mumbai: Axed from the Test squad, senior opener Guatam Gambhir will lead India 'A' against Australia in a three-day practice game, starting February 16 in Chennai.

Gambhir will lead the side in place of Shikhar Dhawan, who was on Sunday drafted into the 15-member Indian Test squad. Gambhir had been struggling for runs for quite some time and failed to escape the axe. In 54 Tests, Gambhir has scored 4021 runs with an average of 44.18. He has scored nine hundred and 21 half-centuries with 206 against Australia being his best score.

His last Test century came in January 2010 against Bangladesh. However, the Indian squad is announced for only the first two Test and if Gambhir could re-discover his touch in the warm-up game, the selectors may think of considering him.

Gautam Gambhir will lead the side in place of Shikhar Dhawan, who was on Sunday drafted into the 15-member Indian Test squad.

It will also depend on how the other openers perform. Apart from struggling Virender Sehwag, prolific scorer Murali and Dhawan are the other openers in the squad.

Dhawan was rewarded for his good form in domestic circuit as he scored 833 first-class runs this season at an impressive average of 55.53. He had also struck a hundred for India A against England in a warm-up ODI.

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