The veteran all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were not included in the playing XI of the Indian cricket team for the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday. (Match Blog | Streaming)
The Jasprit Bumrah-led India won the toss and opted to bat first in the opener. Team management and Bumrah decided to include Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana in the playing XI as both made their Test debuts in Pert today.
India have selected only one spinner in the playing XI and team management preferred Washington Sundar over both veterans for this job. Sundar has been consistent for a long time and his recent performance against New Zealand in the home series was also commendable.
Virat Kohli handed them their debut caps before the toss. Both have impressed many with their performance in the IPL 2024 and have been consistent in domestic cricket as well.
Reddy's stint in the IPL with Sunrisers Hyderabad was a breakthrough for him, earning him the IPL Emerging Player award for 2024. He scored 303 runs in 11 innings, with an average of 36 and a strike rate of 142. Additionally, he took three wickets while bowling.
Rana also performed well in the Plate and Duleep Trophy tournaments in 2024. He travelled with the senior men's cricket team on several tours and during home series but did not get the opportunity to make his debut. He is renowned for his hard-hitting bowling, and the decision to select him over Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep demonstrates the team management's confidence in his abilities.
IND Vs AUS, 1st Test - Playing XIs
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj
