India have yet again announced their playing XI on the eve of their second Test against Australia – it had some eye-catching changes. The Wisden India team weighs in.

India announced four changes to their XI for the second Test in Melbourne: Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant were all included, in a line-up that was much-anticipated following the historic collapse India suffered in Adelaide.

India XI: Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

Below, the Wisden India staff look at the changes, and attempt to figure out the reasoning behind some of the management’s decisions.

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Manoj Narayan – Wisden India editor

This XI was, more or less, on expected lines. Admittedly, it doesn’t look as imposing as the one that turned out for the first Test in Adelaide, and we all know what happened there. India can be optimistic of putting up a better performance with this line-up, though. There seems to be more balance, with Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant in the line-up. The duo being left-hand batsmen – there were none in the first Test – the tweak could perhaps help in dealing with the niggling line-and-length bowling that led to the infamous 36-9.

It’s the personnel itself that makes the line-up seem weaker, and inevitably so – any line-up would look pale if shorn of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. There is inexperience there, with Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj set to make their debuts, and with that in mind, you can’t help but feel India might have been better of with KL Rahul slotting into the middle-order. Rahul is a versatile batsman, and he could have provided India with that dynamism that they’ll now miss without Kohli. He’s also one of the more experienced players in Australian conditions, having made his Test debut there in 2014/15.

However, irrespective of the line-up, the biggest challenge India face will be mental. It’s hard to come back after a loss in the first Test of an overseas series, and even more so when it comes in the manner it did in Adelaide. India’s prospects don’t look too good, at the moment.

Aadya Sharma – Wisden India staff writer

Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami’s forced absence makes the Indian team appear considerably weaker on paper. Gill’s inclusion in place of Shaw is a welcome change, but it also exposes the collective inexperience of the top order: barring Rahane and Pujara, the rest of the top six only have 35 Test caps between them.

There was possibly a case for Rahul’s inclusion as a specialist batsman to lend some solidity to the middle order, if not the opening slot. Hanuma Vihari was a valuable resource in the first Test, specifically as a fifth bowling option, but with the return of Jadeja to the India XI, it’s unlikely that Vihari’s off-spin will be called upon.

Rahul’s versatile strokeplay could have provided more punch to this line-up, especially if India is chasing a win in Melbourne to keep the series alive. The dynamism that Kohli provided at No.4 will be difficult to emulate for the trio of Vihari, Pujara and Rahane, who rely more on conservative, gritty cricket.

The bowling does look more settled than the batting: Jadeja’s inclusion makes the spin attack two-pronged, while Siraj’s entry is on expected lines after an impressive showing in the practice games.

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Rahul Gede – Wisden India staff writer

Finally, Gill makes the cut and rightly so. It’s been a tough few months for Shaw and another failure, and he needs to be protected. However, it does disappoint to see Rahul kept on the bench. Vihari has done enough since his debut to keep his place, and it’s the Jadeja-Ashwin selection, purely based on form, that has hurt Rahul’s chances.

As for the wicketkeeper’s choice, Saha was a safer bet for the pink-ball Test in terms of glovework, but after what happened during that session in Adelaide, there is a need for more depth in batting. In Kohli’s absence, India need a dynamic batsman like Pant, someone who can take the game away from the opposition within a session. There was also a need for a left-hander somewhere in the line-up, and with Pant coming in lower down the order, he can disrupt the opposition’s line of attack – something India clearly lacked in the first Test.

As for the pace-battery, the numbers at the MCG for the last decade or so, suggest that hit-the-deck bowlers have had good success – Johnson, Cummins, Pattinson, Tremlett, Wagner, Bumrah. Going by that, perhaps Saini would’ve been more effective here than Siraj. That said, in terms of variety, Siraj’s reliance on movement makes him slightly different from Umesh and Bumrah, and that augurs well with the overall combination. Siraj could be a better option with the new ball, with Umesh coming in as the first change.