Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill will make their debut for India in the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne that will begin on December 26.
The Indian cricket team announced their playing 11 for the Boxing Day Test against Australia which will begin at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26. Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj will make their debut at the iconic venue while Ajinkya Rahane will take over the captaincy as Virat Kohli is on paternity leave. Rishabh Pant has replaced Wriddhiman Saha as the keeper while in a major surprise, India have included two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin in the playing 11. This means that India will play with potentially with eight batsmen and three bowlers in the Bpxing Day Test as India look to recover from the drubbing in Adelaide where they were bowled out for 36. Significantly, Prithvi Shaw was left out and that means Shubman Gill will open the batting with Mayank Agarwal or potentially, Hanuma Vihari could also open in a repeat of the 2018 Test at the MCG.
This is the first time in a very long period that India are playing two spinners in a playing 11 in the SENA (South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia) countries. It is not new for two people to make their debuts in the same Test. In 1996, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly debuted in the Lord's Test against England. Ajinkya Rahane's team will be hoping to get over their 88-year low which they suffered in Adelaide as they look to stay alive in the four-Test series without Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. Virat Kohli is on paternity leave to be with his wife as the couple expect their first child in January 2021. Mohammed Shami has been ruled out after suffering a fracture in his bowling arm following a blow by a bouncer from Pat Cummins.
Siraj and Gill in warm-ups
Shubman Gill had shown some form in the warm-up game against Australia A at the Sydney Cricket Ground while Mohammed Siraj also impressed with his pace and control in both the warm-up games. Shubman Gill is been touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket after helping India to the 2018 Under-19 title. Ironically, he replaces his captain Prithvi Shaw who had a lean patch with the bat in IPL 2020 and also was dismissed for 0 and 4 in Adelaide.
Mohammed Siraj, on the other hand, bowled well in IPL 2020 for Royal Challengers Bangalore and this will be a big test for him as he aims to provide Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah ample support. With R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the batting line-up, India are playing with potentially eight batsmen and they do not want a repeat of the debacle in Adelaide.
It was widely expected that Rishabh Pant will be the keeper for the Boxing Day Test after the struggles of Wriddhiman Saha in Adelaide. With Pant in the batting line-up, India have a far more attacking option while the likes of Jadeja and Ashwin can also provide a bit of a buffer in case the top order collapses like it did in Adelaide. In 2018, Australia suffered their first loss at the MCG against India after 37 years as Cheteshwar Pujara's century and a nine-wicket haul by Jasprit Bumrah helped India regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy in grand style.
Indian cricket team playing 11
Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
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 "Shubman Gill")
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