India will take on Australia in the 1st Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. Both teams will be looking to start the series on a positive note, and it will be interesting to see the Playing XI of the sides.
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Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are already ruled out, whereas Cameron Green is also a big doubt for the match. Scott Boland is set to play his first overseas match in the absence of Hazlewood and Starc. Australia can certainly play with three spinners in this match.
Ashton Agar is expected to be the all-rounder, whereas Nathan Lyon will be the lead spinner of the side. Todd Murphy and Mitchell Swepson are expected to fight for the 3rd spinner’s place. The batting order of the side is already settled.
Australia’s Probable XI: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Todd Murphy/Mitchell Swepson.
India Playing 11 against Australia
Apart from a couple of spots, the Playing XI of the Indian team looks settled as well. KL Rahul is the vice-captain of the side, and he should open with Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli & Cheteshwar Pujara are automatic choices, whereas KS Bharat is expected to be the wicket-keeper as he is better behind the wickets as compared to Ishan Kishan, and Kishan is going through a rough patch too.
Shreyas Iyer is injured, and the place at number 5 is up for grabs. Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill will fight for that place. Yadav is yet to make his Test debut, whereas Gill has always played in the top-order. It can be a good selection headache for the management.
Talking about the spinners, R Ashwin and Axar Patel were heroes of the last home international season, and they cannot be dropped. Ravindra Jadeja is back, and he cannot be dropped as well. It will be a little harsh on Kuldeep Yadav, but it is almost impossible to play 4 spinners.
Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are set to lead the pace department. There can be a temptation to play Umesh Yadav because of his reverse swing, but Siraj has been impressive with the red ball, and he is expected to get the first priority.
India’s Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill/Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.
