Border-Gavaskar Trophy: India's Probable XI for Perth Test against Australia
The much-awaited five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India is set to begin on November 22 in Perth. Jasprit Bumrah is set to lead India in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma. This means KL Rahul will get a promotion in the batting order. As per ESPNcricinfo, Devdutt Padikkal is likely to bat at number three. Notably, Shubman Gill will miss the Test due to injury.
Will Rahul return to top order?
The team will miss the services of Rohit and Gill, who play the short ball well. While Sharma recently became a father again, Gill is nursing a hand injury. Despite their absence, India has a reliable opener in Rahul, who has done this job well in the past. At Tuesday's training session at the WACA Ground in Perth, Rahul was seen honing his defense skills and participating in all drills in a three-hour training session.
Padikkal steps up to fill Gill's shoes
After Gill's surprise injury, India summoned Padikkal from their A team Down Under. Notably, Padikkal batted with the first group during Tuesday morning's training session. Although the left-hander was a bit inconsistent, he finished his session on a high with a cracking cut shot against the spinners. In his last outing against Australia A in Mackay, Padikkal scored 124 runs off 276 balls across two innings at number four.
Battle between Sarfaraz and Jurel
Seniors Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant will bat at number four and five respectively, while Sarfaraz Khan and Jurel will battle it out for number six. Although Sarfaraz was backed in India's recent home Test season, Jurel batted in Tuesday's training session, as per ESPNcricinfo. His decision-making under pressure, along with his twin fifties at the Melbourne Cricket Ground earlier this month, make him a strong candidate for the Perth Test.
Morkel's focus on Reddy hints at bowling strategy
As per ESPNcricinfo, Team India's bowling coach Morne Morkel was spotted keeping a close eye on Nitish Kumar Reddy during the training session. This indicates that Reddy might be an integral part of India's bowling attack for the upcoming Test. Besides, India are expected to go in with three specialist seamers due to Perth wicket's nature. This means one of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin will play.
India's Probable XI for Perth Test
Probable XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dhruv Jurel/Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
