While easwaran

Great Barrier Reef Arena: Seasoned batter K.L. Rahul and wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel have been added to the India A squad for the second four-day game against Australia A, starting at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday.

IANS had reported on Monday that Rahul and Jurel would link up with the India A team after leaving for Melbourne following the third Test against New Zealand, which the Rohit Sharma-led side lost by 25 runs to suffer a historic 3-0 defeat.

Sources had also said that the decision to send Rahul and Jurel to play for India A team was made with an eye to give the duo some game time ahead of the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, starting in Perth on November 22. It is also believed that Rahul might open alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran, as the Indian team would be keen to see who would be the best person to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Perth Test.