Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, and Prithvi Shaw will represent India in the Adelaide Test. Umesh Yadav will be the third fast bowler. These were the main questions India was considering two days before the Test: whether to continue backing the energetic Shaw, whether to play with a spinner and persist with the safer option of Ashwin, and which of the wicketkeepers to play.
On the eve of the day-night Test, they resolved all the confusion by naming the eleven.
Shaw had been under pressure, with Shubman Gill performing better in the two matches of the tour. However, Shaw was the starting opener and proved in a four-inning in New Zealand that he can be destructive.
Despite the results in the practice games, India opted for continuity at the top of the order.Similarly, the Test’s headline spinner, especially with the absence of Ravindra Jadeja due to injury and concussion, kept his place.
In the case of the wicketkeeper, India dropped the incumbent Pant, who has been preferred to Saha in Tests outside of Asia, where most of the wicketkeeping is done standing back. The management team seems to have decided that the pink ball does a lot and will require a more established pure wicketkeeper.
Yadav was the favorite to be India’s third fast bowler, replacing the injured Ishant Sharma. Not only does he have Test experience, this is his fourth tour of Australia, but he also impressed in the only practice match he played.
