India stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane confirms a return for Rohit Sharma for the third Test against Australia in Sydney while there's a Test debut for paceman Navdeep Saini
Rohit confirmed to open, Saini to bolster pace stocks
Rohit Sharma will return to the India playing XI as an opener for the third Vodafone Test against Australia in Sydney, captain Ajinkya Rahane has confirmed.
It means Mayank Agarwal drops out of the side after playing the opening two Tests, with Shubman Gill, who made his debut in the Boxing Day Test, to form a new opening combination with Rohit.
India will also hand a debut to paceman Navdeep Saini who comes into the side following injuries to Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav in the previous two Tests.
India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini
Hanuma Vihari has retained his spot in the middle order after speculation he would be the player to make way for Rohit's return if the veteran decided a middle-order spot would be a better place for his return.
It means both teams could take all-new opening combinations into the third Test with Australia welcoming back David Warner and seemingly set to hand a debut to Will Pucovski.
Rohit, who also resumes as vice-captain, had missed the opening two Tests as he recuperated from an injury picked up during the Indian Premier League, which meant he was a late arrival to Australia. He was serving his mandatory hotel quarantine during the second Test India won to level the series 1-1.
Saini's selection will test the depth of India's bowling ranks, but the 28-year-old has been impressive in the white-ball formats since his debut some 16 months ago.
Shami was ruled out after a Pat Cummins bouncer broke his forearm while batting in the Adelaide Test and Umesh hobbled off the MCG during his fourth over of Australia's second innings with a calf injury.
India are also missing first-choice seamer Ishant Sharma, who did not make the trip to Australia due to an side strain picked up during the IPL.
Saini brings express pace to the India attack, and his first-class coach told India media he was ideally suited to make an impact in the final two Tests of the current series.
“There’s no doubt that he will relish bowling at (the Gabba), but I also believe that he will be equally potent in Sydney," Sanjeev Sharma, Delhi’s bowling coach when Saini made his first-class debut, told The Indian Express.
"Even though (the SCG is a) pitch that tends to get abrasive and assist spinners, the resultant footmarks will provide Navdeep with the opportunity to get reverse swing.
"Trust me, he is devastating when the ball begins to reverse."
The bouncer barrage directed at India's tailenders will continue during the third Test at the SCG, where Australia expect to cop plenty of short stuff in reply.
"Playing the short ball at that pace is uncomfortable. If you're someone who is perceived to have a weakness in that area, or even if you're not, it's part of the game," Australia captain Tim Paine said today.
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"It's how teams test your mettle, test what you're made of.
"It's a tactic we use pretty consistently, particularly to the lower order ... we expect to get plenty back as well."
Paine added the unspoken pact between fast bowlers to not bounce each other was well and truly over.
"They love peppering each other these days," the wicketkeeper said.
"Lower-order batsmen are getting better and better as well.
"It's a tactic that's already in the minds of batsmen when they come to Australia ... they know it's coming. We know it's coming."
"So far he's indicated that he's good to go and it's not a concern."
Additional reporting by AAP
Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21
Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
India Test squad: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Thangarasu Natarajan
First Test: Australia won by eight wickets
Second Test: India won by eight wickets
Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT
Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT