Ajinkya Rahane and Indian cricket team have been practising hard in the build-up to the Melbourne Test that will begin on December 26 vs Australia.
The Indian cricket team arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday after finishing the first Test in Adelaide which ended in three days. The Indian cricket team arrived in Melbourne minus Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami, with the Indian cricket team captain leaving Australia as he will be on paternity leave. Mohammed Shami's participation has been curtailed after he was hit on the arm by a Pat Cummins bouncer which fractured his arm. With Kohli gone, Ajinkya Rahane will now lead India in the remainder of the three Tests in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
With as many as five changes expected in the Indian cricket team, all the players in the contingent were subject to intense training. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur were out through the paces as India were looking for a pacer to replace Mohammed Shami. With Bumrah now the marquee player and with India looking to stay alive in the series, the onus will be on Ajinkya Rahane to ensure that he continues his unbeaten run. Rahane has had success against Australia in 2017 as well as in the other Test against Afghanistan. Ahead of the Melbourne Test, here are some of the practice pictures from the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
1. Ajinkya Rahane Ravi Shastri
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Ajinkya Rahane will now captain the Indian cricket team after the departure of Virat Kohli. In this session, Rahane is seen having an intense discussion with head coach Ravi Shastri as the duo look to finalise the playing 11. Rahane has captained India two times in 2017 and 2018. One was against Australia in Dharamshala and it was a series-defining win. India would be hoping to bounce back in a similar way. (Image credit: BCCI Twitter handle/Getty Australia)
2. Ravichandran Ashwin
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Ravichandran Ashwin had a good outing in Adelaide as he picked up four wickets in the first innings. That included the massive wicket of Steve Smith for 1 as the Australian batsman was dismissed under 10 runs for the first time in Tests in India. However, R Ashwin might be facing some competition from Ravindra Jadeja who has recovered from a groin injury. (Image credit: BCCI Twitter handle/ Getty Australia)
3. Shardul Thakur
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Shardul Thakur is one of the back-up bowlers in the Indian contingent along with Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan and Mohammed Siraj. With one place up for grabs, Shardul Thakur would be hoping to stake his claim in the playing 11 along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. However, it looks like Siraj might get the go ahead as he played in the warm-up games. (Image credit: BCCI Twitter handle/ Getty Australia)
4. Jasprit Bumrah
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With the departure of Mohammed Shami, the onus will be on Jasprit Bumrah to deliver the goods for India. In his last Test at the MCG, Bumrah picked up nine wickets as India won a Test at the MCG after 37 years in 2018. With three Tests still to play in the series, India will have to manage his workload smartly. (Image credit: BCCI Twitter handle/ Getty Australia)
5. KL Rahul
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KL Rahul will be in contention to make it back to the Indian Test team. However, it remains to be seen whether he will open the batting or play at No.4. With Prithvi Shaw not in form and with the absence of Virat Kohli, it will be interesting to see whether Shubman Gill and KL Rahul fight it out for those two positions. (Image credit: BCCI Twitter handle/ Getty Australia)
