Rohit Sharma was on Tuesday rested for India A’s first unofficial Test in New Zealand.

The star batsman was originally named in the squad but given his recent workload, will now leave for Australia with India’s T20 squad on Friday.

The Men in Blue play the first of three T20 games against Australia on November 21.

“Rohit Sharma has been advised rest by the BCCI Medical Team in consultation with the team management and the All-India Senior Selection Committee. The decision was taken keeping in mind his recent workload,” said the BCCI in a statement.

India A coach Rahul Dravid claimed playing in New Zealand ahead of the Australia tour would be beneficial for senior players but as Sharma captained India in the ODI and T20 series against the West Indies, he has been afforded a break.

India A squad v New Zealand A: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rajneesh Gurbani, Vijay Shankar, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper).