India A will host Australia A for two unofficial Test matches, followed by three unofficial ODIs in September-October 2025 in Lucknow and Kanpur.
The main Indian team in the period would be occupied with the Asia Cup, scheduled to be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 9 to 28, followed by two Tests against the West Indies from October 2 to 14.
Following Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirements from T20Is and Tests, it is being reported that the duo could be seen playing for India A in the unofficial ODIs to prepare for the upcoming tour of Australia.
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While there is no official word on the matter, India's former chief selector MSK Prasad believes Kohli and Rohit can turn up and perform in ODI cricket, irrespective of whether they play the unofficial matches.
Here's what he had to say.
'They have nothing to prove': MSK Prasad on Kohli and Rohit's inclusion for unofficial ODIs vs Australia
While speaking to RevSportz, Prasad, who served as the chairman of selectors from September 2016 to March 2020, during Kohli's tenure as captain, felt it is not necessary for the star batters to play the upcoming set of India A matches.
However, he felt that the duo playing would only help them get some match practice under their belt after a long break since their last competitive matches.
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"Both of them have amassed enough runs in ODIs, and they have nothing to prove. But yes, they should be playing these matches to keep their form flowing, which is good for them personally and for the team at large," he said.
Kohli and Rohit last featured for India in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy on March 9 in Dubai. Since then, they have only played the IPL, reaching the final and Qualifier 2 respectively.
The former captain is India's second-highest run scorer in the format with 14,181 runs in 290 innings, with 51 hundreds and 74 fifties to his name.
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On the other hand, Rohit is 4th in the list, with 11168 runs in 265 innings, scoring 32 hundreds and 58 fifties. Notably, he is only 53 runs away from surpassing Sourav Ganguly to go third in the list.
The India A vs Australia A ODIs will be played on September 30, October 3 and October 5 in Kanpur ahead of the tour down under, beginning from October 19.