The Indian team is all set to take on Australia in the 5-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The 1st Test will take place at the Optus Stadium in Perth, where Australia boasts an unbeaten record, having won all four Tests that they have played, including the one vs India in 2018. There has been a lot of discussion over India’s final playing XI combination after Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s absence for the 1st Test.
The Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, could not join the Indian team due to the birth of his and wife Ritika Sajdeh’s second child a few days back. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill fractured his left thumb during a simulation game at the iconic WACA Stadium and hence remains unavailable. However, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said that the team would wait until the morning of the first Test to decide whether the star batter will play.
India might face a major selection dilemma ahead of the first Test, but India captain Jasprit Bumrah said at the pre-series press-conference that the playing XI is decided and will be revealed at the toss on the morning of the 1st Test.
Who will open with Jaiswal?
The toss-up for the opening slot could be between KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran. The management seemed to have been backing Rahul to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal for the 1st Test. Head coach Gautam Gambhir has praised Rahul’s flexibility in the batting order. The 32-year-old has often batted at No. 6 for India in Tests and could find himself back in that role if the team experiments with its lineup. However, in his audition as an opener, Rahul could not do much for India A. Abhimanyu Easwaran also might have to wait for his Test cap after not an impressive outing for India A in both the unofficial Tests.
Who replaces Gill at No. 3?
Devdutt Padikkal is expected to take over the No. 3 role in Gill’s absence. Padikkal was asked to stay back after the India A team left for their flight back home. The Indian team management has decided to keep top-order batter Devdutt Padikkal in Australia as a batting back-up. The Karnataka batter had a lukewarm outing during the ‘A’ tour, making 36, 88, 26, 1.
Morkel also strongly hinted at a potential debut for 21-year-old all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of the first Test. The young seam-bowling all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh has been turning heads with his performances in 2024 and appears primed to don Test whites for the first time. Being the only seam-bowling all-rounder for India, Nitish could provide the right balance to the team.
There were also reports of Harshit Rana making his debut, but Akash Deep is expected to be the 3rd seamer for India and the Delhi pacer might have to wait for his opportunity.
India’s predicted playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli. Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, R Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Mohammed Siraj
Australia’s predicted playing XI:
Nathan McSweeny, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
