Team India announced a 12-member squad for the first Test against Australia, scheduled to begin from Thursday at the Adelaide Oval. After almost 10 months, ‘HITMAN’ Rohit Sharma is set to appear in whites. He last played against South Africa in January after which he remained out of the Test side so far.
Skipper Virat Kohli seems to have solved the opening conundrum following Prithvi Shaw’s dramatic ousting. After a terrific performance in the second innings of the practice match against Cricket Australia XI, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul will open the batting followed by Cheteshwar Pujara, the captain himself, Ajinkya Rahane strengthening the middle order.
The 12–man squad also includes Hanuma Vihari as the 8th batting option. He scored a half-century on Test debut in England and a 53 in the first innings of the practice match batting ahead of Rohit (40) in the line-up. However, it’s up to the team management to opt for a proper combination to begin the series with.
Hence, it's expected to be a straight shoot-out between Vihari and Rohit for No.6 slot.
In the bowling department, speedsters Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be missing out. Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace battery while R Ashwin will hold the responsibility of spinning the web around the Aussie batters.
Here’s the Plying XI:
Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah