India have won their last two Test tours of Australia. Having beaten England 4-1 at home recently with a young side that had several debutants, they have a lot of expectations riding on them to register a record third straight Test series win in Australia.

Here’s a prediction of what India’s squad and XI might look like. We are assuming a squad strength of 16, with two travelling reserves.

India’s predicted squad for 2024/25 Test tour of Australia

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Left-handed brilliance. The second-fastest to 1000 Test runs after Vinod Kambli, Jaiswal has taken just three series to seal his spot at the top. The South Africa tour indicated that there’s still a lot to learn overseas, and the Australia trip could be a real test.

Rohit Sharma

The last dance? Over a decade since his first Test trip to Australia, and his fourth overall, Rohit could return for the final leg of his Test career.

Shubman Gill

Gill earned his stripes four years ago in the same part of the world, his 91 in Brisbane being considered the birth of a star. Since then, there have been a fair few ups and downs, but he’s now firmly positioned to keep his place after two centuries against England.

Virat Kohli

A much-anticipated comebacks. Kohli missed most of the iconic 2020/21 series due to family commitments: it’s a country that has defined him as a Test cricketer across four tours.

KL Rahul

Rahul’s Test debut came against Australia a decade ago, and he has since gone through several ebbs and flows to finally settle into a middle-order role. He can also back up as a wicketkeeper if needed, like he did during the South Africa Test tour.

Rishabh Pant

Pant orchestrated India’s greatest overseas Test series victory last time they were in Australia. Yet to play international cricket since his accident, a fit and firing Pant will be one of the first names on the Test teamsheet.

Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja has gone from strength to strength as a Test all-rounder. He averages under 22 with the ball in Australia and more than 40 with the bat. Jadeja will be 36 by the time the tour starts, potentially making it his last Test tour to Australia.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep famously took a five-for in Sydney on his first Test tour to Australia in 2018. Since then, he has seen the lows and the highs, and has now forced his way up the pecking order of Test spinners. Given the upturn in his batting as well, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Kuldeep features in the XI ahead of R Ashwin or Shardul Thakur on certain surfaces like the MCG and the SCG.

Mohammed Shami

Shami has toured Australia thrice, although his last tour was cut short by a broken arm in that infamous Adelaide Test where India were bowled out for 36. Armed with all the experience in the world and a bowling strike rate of 54 in Tests in Australia, Shami will be an important part of India’s seam-bowling puzzle for the series.

Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah has truly evolved into the “master of all trades and conditions”, as the recent Test series against England proved. He averages 21.25 with the ball in Australia and is only getting better. Scary.

Mohammed Siraj

Siraj started his Test career during India’s last Test tour of Australia. Three games into his career, he was leading the bowling attack. Now, he has firmly established himself as one of India’s top three Test seamers.

Shardul Thakur

Shardul has been a regular feature in the Test XI whenever India have toured overseas. He was also part of the XI which won the Gabba Test in 2021, where he contributed with both bat and ball. He was left out of the XI for the second Test in South Africa, but a scorching run of Ranji Trophy form may win his place back.

R Ashwin

Among active India players, Ashwin has the most Test wickets in Australia. He played three of the four Tests during the last series, with his first-day spell at the MCG being a memorable one. Ashwin will be 38 by the end of the year and this will most certainly be his last Test tour to Australia.

Dhruv Jurel

Jurel made a quick and surprise entry to the Indian Test side during the home series against England and impressed everyone with his skills and temperament. So much so, that there are talks of considering him as a pure batting option as well for the Australia Tests.

Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz’s Test debut came after a long wait, but with three half-centuries from his first three Tests, he has lived up to the hype he brought with himself. There were doubts over his ability to deal with extreme pace, but the brief passage of play where he dominated Mark Wood in Dharamshala inspired a lot of confidence in his abilities to counter Australian conditions and bowlers if the need arises next summer.

Prasidh Krishna

Krishna had a poor start to his Test career in South Africa and is currently injured. But he still remains the fast bowler with the best attributes to succeed in Australian conditions with his height and hit-the-deck abilities. If he is fit, there are good chances that he will be the backup seamer in the squad.

Akash Deep (Reserve)

Deep had a Test debut to remember in Ranchi. With his whippy action and decent speeds, he can be a handy backup to have in Australia, especially for a five-Test tour.

Mukesh Kumar (Reserve)

A medium-pacer who thrives more on seam movement than on swing or speed, Mukesh’s skills might not be ideally suited to Australia, but with a lot of first-class experience behind his back, he can be expected to hold his own if they need him to play.

Predicted playing XI

Rohit Sharma (c)
Yahsasvi Jaiswal
Shubman Gill
Virat Kohli
KL Rahul
Rishabh Pant (wk)
Ravindra Jadeja
Shardul Thakur/Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Shami
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Siraj

* Based on conditions.