Peter Handscomb has been included in the Australia A squad for the four-day matches against India A later this month in a clear indication he is in the selectors' planning for the Border-Gavaskar Test series early next year.
Handscomb, 35, played the last of his 20 Tests on Australia's previous tour of India in 2023 and remains one of the most consistent domestic players in a bowler-dominated era. He was the leading run-scorer in last season's Sheffield Shield with 724 runs at 34.47 and is renowned as an excellent player of spin, although has been keen to stress in recent seasons that he does not want to be pigeon-holed to certain conditions.
The selectors have mixed youth with some experience in the Australia A squads. Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas, who could push for Test recalls in the near future, are included for both the four-day and one-day parts of the trip while Victoria left-hander Campbell Kellaway is part of the red-ball group. McSweeney's inclusion for the 50-over part of the tour suggests he's not in line for an imminent Test recall.
Jake Weatherald is a significant absence from the A squad after losing his Test place during the recent Bangladesh series. Chair of selectors George Bailey explained they wanted to give him time to settle down the technical changes he brought in over the winter.
"Think you've just got to respect that sometimes they [changes] can be quick and you can make that adjustment seamlessly, and sometimes that's a real challenge," Bailey said. "So we've been really clear with Jake. It's certainly not the end of the road for him. At his best the style of cricket, the way he plays, there's a lot to like about that, but just wanting to create some space and opportunity for him to continue to embed that into his game.
"He was one that we discussed whether there was then value in him going on this India A trip, but just to allow a little bit more time to continue to embed the changes so that the gap between what it looks like at training and then how it looks like in performance can hopefully close a little bit. But he'll get plenty of opportunities."
Jhye Richardson and Brendan Doggett, who featured in last season's Ashes, are part of the four-day squad. Also with an eye on next year's Test series, Todd Murphy and Corey Rocchiccioli are the frontline spinners for the four-day matches.
Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann, who will likely be part of the India Test tour, has not been named for any of the Australia A or ODI squads announced on Tuesday.
Victoria wicketkeeper Sam Harper has been rewarded for his impressive Shield campaign where he had a huge impact after being promoted to open the batting. He has since had a successful off-season playing various franchise cricket although isn't part of the one-day squad.
Western Australia quick bowler Mahli Beardman, who made his T20I debut against Pakistan in January before being diagnosed with a stress fracture of his back, is part of the one-day squad heading to India.
"We consider these tours an important part of performance and developing game styles in sub-continent conditions as part of our continued investment into the Australia A programme," Bailey said. "It's a strong representation of players who will be in contention to be part of the group we take to India next year or see as having potential for further opportunities into the future."
Some players who might ordinarily have featured in an Australia A squad, including Cooper Connolly and Ollie Peake, will be part of the ODI series in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Those part of the one-day portion of the tour in India will miss the opening round of the Sheffield Shield.
The two four-day matches will take place in Puducherry from September 22 to 25 and September 29 to October 2. The one-day games, also in Puducherry, are on October 6, 9 and 11.
Australia A four-day squad vs India A
Brendan Doggett, Jack Edwards, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Liam Hatcher, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Fergus O'Neill, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott
Australia A one-day squad vs India A
Mahli Beardman, Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachlan Shaw