Kohli replaces Dhawan in India A squad

Virat Kohli, the batsman who made his India ODI debut this month, will replace Shikhar Dhawan, the Delhi batsman, in the India A team for the 'Test' series against Australia A starting in Bangalore on September 3, Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, has confirmed.

Dhawan has been ruled out due to a thumb injury he sustained at practice, Shah said. A national selector told Cricinfo that the selection panel decided to give Kohli, the captain of India's World Cup-winning Under-19 team, more cricketing action as the Champions Trophy, for which he had been named in the Indian team, had been postponed.

Kohli, 19, earned his national call-up after a good run in the recently-concluded Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. He has opened for India in the one-dayers against Sri Lanka, scoring 128 runs from four matches, with a highest score of 54.

S Badrinath leads the India A team, which also includes internationals like Robin Uthappa and Sreesanth, who are looking to stage a comeback into the national side.

Meanwhile, the India A preparatory camp for the three-match series started at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Friday under the supervision of Dav Whatmore, the director of operations at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The Indian camp is scheduled to run till September 2 while the Australia A side is expected to arrive later on Friday.