India’s tour of Australia is about to get real.

No, that’s not a purist cliche. Not that the One Day Internationals (part of the Super League) or T20Is (preparations for next year’s World Cup) were not important, but let’s be serious: for many a cricket fan, the main event of India’s tours to Australia is always the Test series. Doesn’t matter if the team is not good enough to even draw one match or it’s a squad that silently fills you with hope, it’s almost always the red-ball leg of the tour that everyone looks forward to.

Well, this time there’s another dimension to it: the pink ball leg to precede the red-ball cricket.

After Ajinkya Rahane and Co, simultaneously during the T20I series, got in to Test match-mode with a practice match at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, India will have nearly the entire contingent to pick from, as action resumes at Sydney Cricket Ground in a day-night simulation game for the visitors.

From Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill to Umesh Yadav: Talking points from Australia A vs India A

The importance of this match cannot be overstated. India simply do not have nearly as much experience with pink-ball long format matches as Australia do, having played just the one Test against Bangladesh last year in Kolkata. If the visitors have any hopes of starting the Test series as they did last time around with a win in Adelaide, then this match at SCG is immensely crucial.

Virat Kohli and Co will look to figure out their playing XI as the Test squad gets into the groove by taking on Australia ‘A’. Importantly, as has been mentioned on these pages before, the game is expected to carry first-class status which means the teams have to name a XI and stick with it.

The tour game at SCG, featuring India and not India A, will be a chance to sort out the combinations both in the batting and bowling departments ahead of opening Day-Night Test scheduled at Adelaide from December 17.

But all eyes will be on the opening slot.

Starting troubles

Kohli, for starters, is not a certainty to feature in this match.

“I think before we go into the first Test, the feeling that we’ll want to have is that our games are at an acceptable level,” Kohli said during the virtual media interaction after the T20I series.

“But more important than that is that you’re physically fresh. We can’t afford the slightest of niggles or muscle strains. That is the biggest priority for us: to keep our main players physically fit. To start the Test series well, we will need our fittest 11 players on the field.”

Given Kohli’s class and his ability to switch on for a big game, India can afford to rest him and throw him in the deep end (if such a thing is possible) at Adelaide Oval, but the same cannot be said for those in contention for the opening spot.

In batting, Mayank Agarwal is the obvious starter but there is a question mark over his partner with the choice being between Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill (with clarity expected on Rohit Sharma’s fitness sometime on Friday).

While Shaw was preferred in the New Zealand series, he struggled for consistency in the IPL. Gill, on the other hand, had scored 440 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders and looked in better touch in general. But both of them flattered to deceive in the opening match.

India A openers in this match: 

Shubman Gill: 0 (1 balls), 29 (24 balls) 

Prithvi Shaw: 0 (8 balls), 19 (31 balls)  


The other option is KL Rahul, who has been in great form and also formed a formidable pair with Agarwal for the Kings XI Punjab during IPL (the best of friends too), but the last time he had played a Test was in September 2019. Do India go back down that route again?

There is also Hanuma Vihari, who opened with Agarwal at MCG in 2018.

At this point, it is anyone’s guess.

In the wicketkeeper’s slot, it will be Wriddhiman Saha versus Rishabh Pant. For Saha, who had injured both his hamstrings during the IPL, it will be a test to show his fitness again after he got through alright in the first practice match. He even impressed with the bat in the second innings with a match-saving half century.

Pant has been India’s number one choice in overseas Tests but he was dropped from the limited over series and will have to deliver the goods to seal the keeper’s slot, if he gets a run.

With skipper Kohli going on paternity leave after the opening Test, the onus will be on Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Vihari to show the way in the middle order.

Rahane, the man likely to lead India in the absence of Kohli, will look for a good outing after a century in the previous match. Pujara and Vihari too will be looking to get more minutes under their belt after decent performances.

In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the T20Is, is expected to play the practice match as he looks to get into Test mode. While Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will share the new ball in the Tests, the third pacer’s spot will be up for grabs in Ishant Sharma’s absence. India’s bowlers chosen for this SCG might well be the first-choice to feature in Adelaide.

R Ashwin’s form will be key if Ravindra Jadeja is unavailable. The other question would be whether India can afford to go into the Test carrying five specialist bowlers with perhaps an extra spinner in Kuldeep Yadav.

Kuldeep, among all the players in this team, has more experience of playing with pink ball (Duleep Trophy in 2017) and the kind of revolution he produces, he could make it difficult for batsmen to spot the black seam of the pink kookaburra under lights.

For Australia, new sensation Cameron Green will get another chance to impress skipper Tim Paine and coach Justin Langer while Mitchell Swepson would hope that when the third Test is played at the SCG in the New Year, he is in consideration. They are captained by Alex Carey for this match. In a blow to their preparations, young opener Will Pucovski, who was in line to make his Test debut in Adelaide, has been ruled out of this practice match after a blow to his helmet at the very end of the previous match.

Squads

India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk)

Australia A: Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Alex Carey (c, wk), Harry Conway, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Moises Henriques, Nic Maddinson, Ben McDermott, Mark Steketee, Will Sutherland, Mitchell Swepson 

Match starts at 9:00 am and will be broadcast live on Sony Six in India.

With PTI Inputs