Stand-in India captain Jasprit Bumrah has confirmed that the team management have benched both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in favour of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth. Bumrah confirmed India's playing XI after opting to bat first in the series opener at …
Perth Test: India pick Washington Sundar as lone spinner ahead of Ashwin, Jadeja
Stand-in India captain Jasprit Bumrah has confirmed that the team management have benched both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in favour of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth. Bumrah confirmed India’s playing XI after opting to bat first in the series opener at the Optus Stadium.
Off-spin bowling all-rounder Sundar was part of the winning side in 2020-21 BGT Down Under and took 16 wickets in two Tests against New Zealand, while Nitish Reddy is a seam-bowling all-rounder who is set for his Test debut, having recently made his India debut in T20Is against Bangladesh.
India added Devdutt Padikkal to the squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) on Thursday and the left-handed batter from Karnataka will bat at No.3, given the finger injury Shubman Gill suffered last week during the match simulation. KL Rahul will open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal as Rohit Sharma, who is on paternity leave, misses out. Rishabh Pant is expected to bat at No.5, followed by Dhruv Jurel, who recently scored 80 and 68 in a match for India A against Australia A. “We are going to bat first, looks like a good wicket. Very confident with our preparation. We played a Test match here in 2018 so we know what to expect. The wicket gets quicker. Nitish makes his debut, Washi is the lone spinner,” Bumrah said after the toss.
AUS vs IND 1st Test, Day 1 Live
One more debut was handed in the bowling department. Harshit Rana has been picked instead of Akash Deep, and will partner stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. On the other hand, Australia did not make any surprising changes for the Perth Test, a venue where they have remained unbeaten in four matches since 2018. Opener Nathan McSweeney is set to make his debut, while Mitchell Marsh will step in as the pace-bowling all-rounder, replacing the injured Cam Green.
Playing XIs for Perth Test
INDIA: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Paddikal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah (c).
AUSTRALIA: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khwaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
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