India, on Wednesday, named a 13-man squad for the final Test against Australia going to begin from Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Some major changes have been made in the pack as leading speedster Ishant Sharma misses out and comes in Kuldeep Yadav along with KL Rahul and Umesh Yadav.
Going by the fact that the Sydney track has typically favoured spinners, the visitors opted to induct all three spinners. However, Ashwin, who failed the fitness test on Wednesday morning, is most likely to be dropped for the final game. The management will take the final decision before the play starts.
Kuldeep Yadav, who has been benched for all the previous Tests, could be used to assist Ravindra Jadeja as the SCG curator Justin Groves has already that the track will deliver good carry initially and then turn as the weather heats up.
On the other hand, KL Rahul is back in the middle-order to replace Rohit Sharma who has flown back to India to see his newly born daughter. Rahul missed the Melbourne Test following his lean run in the first two games.
India have kept Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in the pace department and have brought Umesh back. Ishant, who has been phenomenal with his spells in the series so far, will be missing out the first Test of 2019.
Here’s India XIII for SCG Test:
Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav
Taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series, India will retain the coveted trophy even if the series is drawn level at Sydney as they have won the previous series at home in 2017.