Vidarbha's Aman Mokhade was arguably the breakout batter across formats in the 2025-26 Indian domestic season.
The 25-year-old opener became the fastest Indian to 1000 List A runs during the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy, scored three fifties in seven innings in the 20-overs Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and also proved his red-ball chops with 760 runs in 11 innings at an average of over 75 in the Ranji Trophy.
His bumper run culminated in a Duleep Trophy debut for Central Zone, India A call-ups for the Sri Lanka tour in July and for the upcoming four-dayers at home against Australia A in Puducherry apart from trials with at least five IPL franchises. Mokhade has already been to a Delhi Capitals camp ahead of the IPL 2027 auction.
This season is shaping up to be an even more significant one for Mokhade. He had starts against both Sri Lanka A in Galle and against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy in Bengaluru more recently, but couldn't convert those into substantial scores.
While most of the attention will be on B Sai Sudharsan, who is set to make his comeback from injury during the unofficial Tests against Australia A, it's also another opportunity for Mokhade to showcase his red-ball credentials against a bowling attack that will potentially include Jhye Richardson and Brendan Doggett, both of whom participated in the 2025-26 Ashes.
"I wouldn't say I'm the best version of myself yet," Mokhade tells Cricinfo. "I'm close to becoming that best version after the previous domestic season. But I'm a keen learner and want to keep upgrading myself. As a batter, especially opening batter, you will have to adapt to the conditions.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to this A series and hope to score as many runs as I can and give my best in whatever games I get. Australia are always a strong team, so it's a nice challenge for me."
According to Mokhade, the gap between the Indian domestic system and international cricket isn't as wide as it used to be in the past. He felt that his own transition from Vidarbha to the India A team has been fairly smooth.
"Being on my first A tour to Sri Lanka, the Indian team environment was very lively and I didn't feel as if I'm a newcomer or something," Mokhade says. "The coaches also knew about my game and it helps you get through the initial phase. The level of cricket - I didn't feel much of a difference because the Indian domestic circuit is very strong.
"If you perform here, you will be able to perform against international bowlers too at higher levels. So, that's the kind of confidence you get by performing in domestic cricket. Having Harsh (Dubey) around also helped in getting through some jitters I had before the game. I played a lot of age-group cricket with Harsh and it's nice when you have someone from your childhood during these important games."
After Danish Malewar, who represented Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, and Yash Rathod, who will also be in action against Australia A, Mokhade is the latest batter Vidarbha have supplied to the India A set-up. In domestic red-ball cricket, Mokhade is known for his exceptional powers of concentration and ability to grind bowling attacks over time.
Some of those traits were on display when Mokhade scored 183 off 308 balls and 176 off 312 balls in back-to-back innings against Nagaland and Jharkhand in the Ranji Trophy last October.
"Over the years, I have developed the habit of batting for long and scoring big runs in age-group cricket," Mokhade says. "When you come from Vidarbha, in the age groups you have two-three batsmen who have to take responsibility on themselves to take your team to a good total.
"When I was growing up, we didn't have that many batters in our team. So I, as a batter, it was my responsibility to take the team through. So it helped me to play spinners a bit more easily and when the ball becomes old, that time also I learnt how to play and how to take on my innings as long as I can."
Mokhade also credits his former Vidarbha team-mate Karun Nair for pushing him to improve his red-ball game. Ironically, it was the presence of Nair and Dhruv Shorey (professionals) that had limited Mokhade's chances in the Vidarbha team at one point.
"I have been in the Vidarbha team for three-four years now, but I didn't get many chances earlier," Mokhade says. "But you also get a chance to learn from the senior players [on the sidelines]. When Karun bhai was in our team, he helped me a lot with my red-ball batting and I was very determined to do well in the Ranji Trophy and worked hard for it during the off-season.
"It was about making some micro-changes from white-ball cricket to red-ball cricket. I feel red-ball cricket is more of playing the ball a little bit closer to your body and bat tight. White-ball cricket is more about getting into good positions and letting your hands do the work. Between the tournaments, like after phase one of Ranji, you hardly get five days to prepare for the [Syed] Mustaq Ali Trophy. You need to be prepared for the switch and it's something I still work on during the off-season."
Mokhade's versatility and temperament have brought him onto the IPL radar too, but his immediate focus is to make a stronger impression in his second stint with India A, against Australia A in Puducherry.