Australia vs India: All-rounder Nitish Reddy and pacer Harshit Rana. (File images)
Australia vs India: All-rounder Nitish Reddy and pacer Harshit Rana are set to make their Test debuts in the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Perth on Friday. The Indian Express understands that both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be benched in favour of fellow off-spinner Washington Sundar. Sundar returned to the Test side in the recent home series against New Zealand and did an exceptional job taking 16 wickets in two Tests, including a 10-wicket match haul in Pune.
In the first of five Tests Down Under, it is learnt that KL Rahul will open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal while Devdutt Padikkal, who was added to the squad as cover for Rohit Sharma who stayed back in India for the birth of his second child, will get a game too. The Karnataka batsman will be batting at number three after the team management and the selection committee were impressed with his performance for India A in the two matches at Mackay and Melbourne. Padikkal scored 88 during the first of those games.
India will have their most accomplished batsman, Virat Kohli at number four and the team will hope that returns to somewhere close to his best form at the start of the tough series. Rishabh Pant will continue at five while another wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel will be playing as a pure batsman. Jurel showed great promise against Australia A and was the lone batsman who stood up in the Melbourne game.
On the bowling side, the Indian team will be going with a combination of four pacers and one spinner. Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack alongside Mohammed Siraj. Rana will be the third pacer with Reddy the fourth.
Indian XI likely for the first Australia vs India Test
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Paddikal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah (captain).
