When Virat Kohli & Co take the field at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday (January 26) for the Boxing Day Test, they will face a seven-year-old rival captain in the Australian ranks.
On Sunday, Aussie Test captain Tim Paine announced that Archie Schiller, a leg-spinner, will co-captain the hosts. And according to cricket.com.au, Archei, who turned seven on Saturday, is set to partner Nathan Lyon.
But Archie’s inclusion in the extended Test squad was made public earlier this month while the team was in the United Arab Emirates for their recent series against Pakistan.
Who is Archie?
Here's what Cricket Australia wrote about the cricket-mad boy from Adelaide:
When he was just three months old, his heart condition diagnosed weeks after his birth required an urgent trip from Nuriootpa in South Australia to Melbourne where he underwent urgent surgery lasting more than seven hours.
Six months later, he endured a second bout as specialists fought to fix the faulty valves and irregular rhythms of Archie's bravely beating heart.
When those measures showed signs of failing last December, the family ventured back to Melbourne for his third open-heart procedure and faced the reality they risked returning home without their son (Archie).
Archie pulled through his latest ordeal, and Melbourne once more looms as the centre of Christmas 2018 for Archie...
The Make-A-Wish Australia made it possible for Archie's inclusion in the squad.
The traditional Boxing Day Test starts on December 26. The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is tied at 1-1 after Australia won the second match at Perth. India won the series opener at Adelaide.
