India Predicted Playing XI: The Indian cricket team will be bereft of two of their first-choice batsmen, one of whom is the leader of the side, in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 Test match, and the Asian side will not be able to field their best playing XI against Australia in Perth.
The BGT 2024/25 will get underway on November 22, Friday, at the Optus Stadium in Perth, where Australia have won all their four Tests so far, including one against India in 2018.
The venue is hailed as a bowling-friendly paradise: it offers extra bounce, pace, and seam movement, and as the match progresses, the cracks on the pitch start to open up, something that Nathan Lyon has used effectively to become the highest wicket-taker at the Optus Stadium in Test cricket. Essentially, batting is going to be really challenging throughout the Test match.
For India, it could turn into a nightmare as they will be missing two of their top-order batsmen, and both are perhaps the best two batters in the side against pacers.
Captain Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the Perth Test. He is still in India to be with his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, who recently gave birth to their second child. With no match practice possible for Rohit, it was wise for him to skip the Perth Test. He will be available for the second Test in Adelaide, which starts on December 6 and is a day-night match. He will have one warm-up game of two days, starting November 30, to prepare for the second Test.
Also Read: Border-Gavaskar Trophy Most Memorable Matches
In Rohit’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah, the vice captain, will be elevated to captaincy duties for the second time in his Test career.
Shubman Gill, who had cemented himself at the No. 3 spot, sustained a thumb injury on Saturday while fielding during India’s match simulation training at the WACA ground in Perth, and the right-hander will miss the Perth Test. His availability for the Adelaide Test is not yet certain either.
In the absence of Rohit and Gil, India will play KL Rahul, who was benched for the last two Tests against New Zealand. Abhimanyu Easwaran is the backup opener in the squad and might get the nod to make his Test debut in Perth. However, Easwaran performed poorly in the two four-day matches against India A, managing the highest score of only 17 runs in four innings.
India might be tempted to play Dhruv Jurel in the side as a specialist batsman after his scores of 80 and 68 vs. Australia A, which had followed a score of 93 in the Irani Cup. Sarfaraz Khan, who struggled in the last two Tests against New Zealand and is not considered to be a good batsman of pace and bounce, is expected to be dropped.
Reports have suggested that the Indian team management might be planning to hand seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy a Test debut in Perth. They might be hoping for him to play the role that Shardul Thakur had been doing on their last trips to Australia, South Africa, and England. Reddy would provide support to the three main seamers.
Since this is Perth, India are likely to go with only one spin-bowling all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja is likely to get that slot over R. Ashwin and Washington Sundar.
Also Read: BGT 1st Test Prediction
The pace department will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, who will have Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep in support. Harshit Rana’s style of bowling might be effective in Perth. Rana can bat as well, as a first-class batting average of 42 suggests.
BGT: India Predicted Playing XI For 1st Test vs Australia in Perth
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
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