India playing XI for first Test against Australia: Fit again KL Rahul set to open, newbie to get middle-order role

The Men in Blue are already faced with a few pressing concerns that could see the selectors take some interesting calls.

With skipper Rohit Sharma and young batter Shubman Gill expected to miss the first, it is expected that the Indian management can ask KL Rahul to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal to address the top-order void. Notably, there was an injury scare to Rahul after being hit on the elbow by Prasidh Krishna during the recent intra-squad match simulation but has now been declared fit to play.

Former India captain and star batter Virat Kohli can promote himself to the No.3 position which would allow the management to play Dhruv Jurel as a pure batter while Rishabh Pant dons the wicketkeeper gloves as usual. Jurel also had a good outing against Australia A in the only Test he played, managing scores of 80 and 68.

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Two new debutants expected to feature in India’s Playing XI for 1st Australia Test

India could also see two new debutants in the side in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana. The pitch at Perth’s Optus Stadium is expected to provide good bounce and carry, making Rana and Reddy ideal choices to bolster the fast-bowling attack.

The inclusion of Nitish in the playing XI is primarily driven by the team’s plan to utilize him as a fifth seamer.

Additionally, with India’s premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya absent from the Test squad to manage his workload, Reddy stands as the sole pace-bowling all-rounder available for the five-match Test series.

Jadeja will most probably get the nod over Ravichandran Ashwin as the only spinning all-rounder in the team followed by Akash Deep, stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj completing the rest of the bowling attack.

India’s Playing XI for 1st Australia Test:

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj.