India made three changes from their winning combination in Perth for the day-night Test in Adelaide. Washington Sundar was replaced by R Ashwin, Dhruv Jurel by Rohit Sharma, and Devdutt Padikkal by Shubman Gill.

However, a one-sided defeat has changed equations once again. Add to that the fact that the third Test in Brisbane is a red-ball affair as compared to the pink-ball game that was the second Test, and that leaves the visitors with several headaches as far as their combination is concerned.

While there don't seem to be any real injury concerns as of now, India can make anywhere between zero to as many as five changes to their playing XI for the third Test. Here are some of the players who can potentially be dropped.

R Ashwin

Ashwin bowled 18 overs for 1-53 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test. In conditions where he didn't have much going for him, those can be considered decent returns, especially when every other bowler apart from Jasprit Bumrah went for more than four runs per over.

But the conditions in Brisbane can be even less helpful than Adelaide, and the spinner's role may be reduced to a formality, of filling in overs and holding one end to give the quicks a rest. In that case, India may want to play the better batter among the three spinners they have, which might mean Sundar returning, or Ravindra Jadeja getting a first look-in in the series at No.7.

Another reason why India may drop Ashwin is if they consider dropping either Nitish Kumar Reddy or Harshit Rana to bolster their fast-bowling attack. Doing that will reduce the batting resources in the XI, forcing them to strengthen it by playing either Jadeja or Sundar in place of Ashwin.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Reddy has been the star with the bat for India in the first two Tests, the first two of his career. But the incisiveness (or lack thereof) of his bowling has reduced India to effectively a three-seamer attack. With one of those being the inexperienced Rana, it backfired in Adelaide as India failed to bowl out Australia before they got too far away.

Dropping the only consistent batter would be a tough call, but at No.7 (or below), India need someone who could offer more with the ball, particularly if they are the fourth quick. That might lead the team management into picking Akash Deep or Prasidh Krishna in place of Reddy, and replacing Ashwin with Sundar or Jadeja to make up for the loss of batting ability due to Reddy's absence.

Nitish Kumar Reddy already has more 40-plus scores in Australia than Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, dazzling fans with audacious strokeplay.

Yet, @ovshake42 argues that India must drop their newfound hero to restore team balance.

READ: https://t.co/rCcn56Cwvh pic.twitter.com/81pOpvSRVe

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) December 10, 2024

Harshit Rana

Rana, who debuted alongside Reddy in Perth, went wicketless in the second Test and was put under the pump. While he gave a good account of himself in the first Test, his lack of control can make the Indian team replace him with the more reliable Akash. Prasidh is another option who could mirror Rana's hit-the-deck abilities, but control is an issue with the Karnataka quick as well.

Shubman Gill

Gill returned to the playing XI for the second Test after missing the first due to injury. He got starts in both innings, scoring 28 and 31, but couldn't convert them into anything substantial. Since his 91 the last time India played a Test at Gabba nearly four years back, Gill has not made a 40-plus score outside Asia, averaging 19 from eight Tests.

With Reddy having done well with the bat, Rohit Sharma languishing down at No.6, and Jadeja waiting in the wings, there's a possibility that India may drop Gill, push Rohit up to No.3, and accommodate Jadeja at six. That way, they won't have to drop their most consistent batter Reddy, can add a spinner in Jadeja, and have three (or four) fast bowlers from Nos.8 to 11.

KL Rahul

Rahul was arguably India's best batter in Perth, having been asked to open to fill in for Rohit. His solid outing meant he kept his place at the top in Adelaide, but consistency has never been his cup of tea: 37 and 7 in Adelaide means he can still find himself sitting out in Brisbane if Rohit decides to move up the order and the management decides to include an extra all-rounder to bolster their chances of taking 20 wickets.

Predicted India XI for Brisbane Test

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

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