Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, and Prithvi Shaw have been selected to represent India in the Adelaide Test. Umesh Yadav will complete the fast bowlers’ corps.
The main questions for India two days before the Test were: whether to maintain confidence in the energetic Shaw, whether to play with a spinner and persist with the safer option of Ashwin, and which of the wicketkeepers would be selected. On the eve of the day-night Test, they cleared up all doubts by announcing the starting eleven.
Shaw had been under pressure, with Shubman Gill showing better performance in the two tour matches. However, Shaw, as a regular opener, proved in a four-run innings in New Zealand that he can be destructive. He scored 0, 19, 40 and 3 in the two tour matches, but it was his loose shots that worried.Similarly, the Test’s titular spinner, especially with the absence of Ravindra Jadeja due to injury and concussion, kept his place. The last time India chose not to play Ashwin in an opening match of the series was on the 2014-15 Australia tour.
As for the wicketkeeper, India left out the regular Pant, who has been preferred to Saha in Tests outside of Asia, where most of the wicketkeeping is done standing back. The team seems to have decided that the pink ball will move a lot and will require a more established wicketkeeper.
Yadav was the favorite to be India’s third fast bowler, replacing the injured Ishant Sharma. Not only does he have Test experience, but he also impressed in the only practice match he played.
India XI: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
