Mitchell Marsh to replace Peter Handscomb in Boxing Day Test

Australia vs India Boxing Day Test: The slow nature of the MCG pitch may pave way for Mitchell Marsh's return to Australia's playing XI in place of an out-of-form Peter Handscomb

Like India are fretting over their opening combination ahead of the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, Australia too have their own set of worries, the No. 6 slot being the biggest of them, so much so that the hosts are set to make their first change in the series. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh in all probability will replace Peter Handscomb in the third Test match against India.

Handscomb has been horribly short of runs in the series with 34 being his best in the four innings. He has been vulnerable in front of the short stuff dished out by the Indian seamers. Marsh, on the other hand, is not only a handy batsman but he will also give Australia an extra option with the ball, which can come in handy in Melbourne.

"In a perfectly balanced side you have someone who can bowl some overs, so Mitch becomes an attractive commodity on a wicket, unlike Adelaide and Perth where we knew it would be an even contest, that although there are some grass and moisture we also know the history of it," said Australia coach Justin Langer.

"We weigh up all those things," Langer said. "Pete's a very good player of spin bowling, Mitch is a pretty good player of spin too.

"They are the hard decisions. You generally talk about one position and they are the ones that give you the most headaches. You have to tell someone they're not playing which is tough and tell someone they are, it's a nice Christmas present.

Both Handscomb and Marsh were given a fair amount of working over by the Australian quicks Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins during Australia’s training session on Christmas Eve.

Marsh, who is yet to play a part in the series, was released after the second Test to turn up for Perth Scorchers in their Big Bash League opener.  

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Archie Schiller (7-year-old co-captain)

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar