Experience gap shapes as one of series opener's major subplots

As Ravichandran Ashwin stood barefoot on the Perth Stadium pitch carefully studying its contents on the eve of the first Test, the veteran spinner must have known the cunning amassed from 14 years of international cricket will be needed more than ever over the coming days.

While Ashwin will be the oldest Indian to play a Test in Australia since Sachin Tendulkar if he gets the nod for the NRMA Insurance series opener on Friday, the 38-year-old's experience will be an outlier in what is shaping as a remarkably youthful visiting XI.

For all the attention centred on Nathan McSweeney over recent days partly due to the debutant being Australia's only player under the age of 30, India by contrast could field a side with four players younger than him.

Incumbent opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (22-year-old) is a certainty to play and could be joined by Devdutt Padikkal (24), Dhruv Jurel (23) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (21). Harshit Rana (22) has also been flagged as being in the mix to play in this series.

Excluding Jaiswal, the other four have played four Tests between them, while Reddy and Rana are yet to make their debuts. 

It meant the boyish enthusiasm displayed by captain Jasprit Bumrah on Thursday, in what was the first press conference given by an India player since their arrival in Australia, befits the potential make-up of the side set to begin India's defence of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Bumrah, standing in for the more measured Rohit Sharma due to the recent birth of his second child in Mumbai, believes India's almost fortnight-long lead-in to this match has provided younger players even better groundwork than India had for their previous two Test tours of Australia. 

"We're very well prepared. We came here early, we got some time to spend at the WACA," said Bumrah, part of India's triumphant 2018-19 and 2020-21 Australian touring parties. 

"A lot of the youngsters are coming here for the first time, but when we came here for (Bumrah's) first time, we got less time than this and we ended up winning the series.

"We got that time at the WACA because a lot of the guys are coming here for the first time to bowl with the Kookaburra ball. There is a little more bounce than what we are used to in India. 

"The message that I would give them is … self-belief (should) be there."

India's greenhorn squad should be boosted by the return of Rohit for the second Test in Adelaide, while Bumrah was bullish on the chances of seamer Mohammad Shami being available later in the campaign following his long-awaited recent return to cricket last week.

Until then, their inexperience and the likelihood of changes after their 0-3 home series defeat to New Zealand stands in sharp contrast to their opposition.

Australia's XI will have just a solitary change to the one picked for last summer's Perth Test (McSweeney coming in for David Warner) and only two from 2022-23 (when Cameron Green was in for Mitch Marsh). 

The youngest incumbent of Australia's settled Test side, 30-year-old Marnus Labuschagne, played his 50th Test in their most recent red-ball outing eight months ago in Christchurch. Travis Head, also 30 and the next youngest in the side, will notch his own half-century of Tests in Perth. 

It will leave 32-year-old Mitch Marsh (playing his 43rd Test this week) as the only Australian other than McSweeney who has not reached that milestone. 

"It's weird, it's basically been the same side for the last two or three years," Cummins told reporters on match eve. 

"So the week leading in is very normal, it's all very relaxed. Everyone knows how they need to prepare. It's pretty seamless – all the meetings, training, all those kind of things we've done heaps before with the same people. 

"It's just about reaffirming what we do really well – that's been one of the strengths of our team, is not only the consistency, but how well everyone gets on and how much we love playing together."

While Australia will hold a significant experience advantage for the West Test, a challenge will be posed when it comes to their opposition scouting. 

The likes of Bumrah, Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Siraj are well known to the hosts, while Cummins boasts extensive knowledge of Reddy having captained the bowling allrounder at Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year's IPL.  

But for the likes of Padikkal, Jurel and another possible inclusion for the first Test, tall 28-year-old seamer Prasidh Krishna, Cummins said they have relied on intel gleaned by McSweeney and back-up quick Scott Boland from the recent 'A' series between the two countries. 

"You always make plans for the whole squad," said Cummins. "I think with most teams, especially India, you know (they) have got a lot depth. 

"Most of us have played IPL and seen how many newcomers come in and step up straightaway. They're missing a couple of guys we're more familiar with, but we know whoever they pick they obviously think is good enough for Test cricket. We've done a bit of prep."

It will not bear repeating to the Aussies that they ought to remain wary of any Indian XI picked to play a Test here given how they pulled off their miracle series-clinching win at the Gabba almost four years ago with a team ransacked by injury. 

Even going back to 2018-19, Bumrah himself was still new to Test cricket but finished the series as its joint leading wicket taker with 21 victims at an average of 17.  

"When I came here (for the first time), it was just my second tour but in my head I wanted to make a difference," said the paceman whose only previous captaincy experience came in the final Test of India's 2022 tour of England. 

"I was not looking at it (like) 'I'm inexperienced' – I was looking at myself and how I could contribute. 

"That is the message I've passed on as well – that any one of us can make a difference on any given day. It doesn't matter what reputation (you have) or how many games we have behind our back."

But Ashwin, who was deep in conversation with India's analyst following his lengthy pitch inspection on Thursday afternoon, will know the wisdom gained from four previous Test trips Down Under will count for plenty over the coming days.

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: November 22-26: Perth Stadium, 1.20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (D/N)

Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11.20am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed