India have picked two debutants for the Perth Test, handing debuts to Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana.
India won the toss and have decided to bat first at the Optus Stadium today (November 22). Jasprit Bumrah will lead the lead in the absence of Rohit Sharma for the first Test, with the latter away due to the birth of his second child.
The hosts needed to make several decisions regarding their XI for the first Test against Australia, with the absence of several first-choice players. Alongside Rohit, India’s No.3 Shubman Gill was also missing out, having injured himself ahead of the Test.
No Ashwin, no Jadeja, India prefer Sundar instead
The big surprise remained the absence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, India’s premier spinners for over a decade for the Test. This is the first time since the Gabba Test on the last tour that India have been playing a Test without either the two players. However, in that instance, both Jadeja and Ashwin were injured for the game.
Reddy will be one of the two all-rounders in the side, alongside Washington Sundar, also the lone spinner in the XI. Rana will also make his debut, a part of four seam-attack, consisting of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, alongside Reddy.
Dhruv Jurel will also be a specialist batter, slotting in at No.6.
For Australia, Nathan McSweeney makes his debut and will open alongside Usman Khawaja, ending weeks of speculation over the batter to fulfil the role following the decision to push down makeshift opener Steve Smith back to his position ay No.4.
Australia vs India playing XIs:
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj
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