Prithvi Shaw ruled out, Mayank Agarwal named as replacement for remainder of Australia Tests

Prithvi Shaw has been ruled out of the final two Test matches and will be replaced by Mayank Agarwal

India’s hopes of finding a solution to their opening woes received a major setback as Prithvi Shaw was ruled out of the remainder of the Australia series because of an ankle injury. Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal has been named as his replacement. Agarwal is set to fly to Australia and join the rest of the Indian squad before the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne. Shaw, on the other hand, has been advised to fly back home.

Shaw’s unavailability comes as a major surprise after it was reported that the 19-year-old was recovering quickly from the unfortunate injury he suffered during India’s only practice game ahead of the four-match Test series in Adelaide.

Shaw was in fact, seen going through a light training session at Perth on Saturday, which gave rise to speculations about his availability in the Boxing Day Test match. The news also comes as a major blow to India, who were desperately looking for Shaw's comeback in the third Test. India's opening pair of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay have been horribly out of sorts in the first two Tests with both of them looking vulnerable to the pace and bounce of the Australian seamers.

With scores of 11, 18, zero and 20 Vijay has been one of the least impressive Indian batsman on display. His opening partner, Rahul, is not far behind. Rahul has posted scores of 2, 44, 2 and a zero in four innings this series.    

Therefore, Shaw's comeback in the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test was inevitable had he been fit. The Mumbai teenager had a terrific start to his Test career scoring a sparkling century on Test debut against the Windies and following that up with an impressive 70 in the next Test. Shaw had garnered a lot of praise for with his flawless 66-run knock in the first innings of the practice game against Cricket Australia XI before twisting his ankle.

However, not all is lost for India as Shaw's replacement Mayank Agarwal is by no means short of talent or runs. Many believed, he was unlucky not to get picked for the Australia tour at the first place after enjoying a prolific run in first-class cricket both home and away for as long as the last two years. 

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya too will join the squad after proving his fitness in a Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai, where he bowled more than 18 overs, picking up five wickets.

Hardik also made a patient 73 off 137 balls, but could not ensure first-innings lead for his home team.

"Hardik (Pandya) is going to Australia," Devdhar told reporters after the Baroda-Mumbai Ranji Trophy game when asked about's Hardik's status for the next game.

Indian Team for last two Tests against Australia: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Sham, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.