India have handed debuts to seam-bowling all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, with Washington Sundar being the lone spinner, as stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at the Perth Stadium here on Friday.
India won the last two Test series played in Australia by identical 2-1 margins in 2018/19 and 2020/21, respectively. They have also been trophy holders since 2016/17. Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli presented Harshit and Nitish with their maiden Test caps.
Apart from Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj completing the four-man pace attack, India have also sprung in a surprise by selecting Washington as their lone spinner ahead of stalwarts like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
“We know what to expect, the wicket gets quicker after the first session. We’re pretty confident. For our batters and team (the WACA practice), it was a great experience. We played a Test here in 2018 so we know what to expect,” said Bumrah.
The visitors will have Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers, with Devdutt Padikkal slotted at number three in the absence of the injured Shubman Gill. At the same time, regular skipper Rohit Sharma is due to link up with the team on November 24, after he stayed back home for the birth of his second child.
The BCCI said Gill was not considered for selection for the first Test due to a left thumb injury sustained on Day Two of match simulation at the WACA, adding that its medical team is monitoring his progress on a daily basis.
On the other hand, Australia have handed a debut to batter Nathan McSweeney, who got his Test cap from former player Darren Lehmann. He becomes the 467th player to play Tests for Australia.
“We’re pretty 50/50. Good wicket here — the sun’s out, either way, we’re pretty happy. Feel fresh ready to go. Any format we (India-Australia) play seems fiercely fought. The wickets out the back have been nice and bouncy. So hopefully a bit of pace and bounce this week,” said Cummins.
Playing XIs:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj
Australia: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood