India vs Australia, 1st Test team: Prithvi Shaw included in place of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant dropped

Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team named their playing 11 for their first overseas Pink Ball Test against Australia in Adelaide on Wednesday. There were some surprises to the side that will face Australia, with Prithvi Shaw included to open the batting with Mayank Agarwal in place of KL Rahul. However, the debate over who will be India’s first choice wicketkeeper was finally revealed as Wriddhiman Saha was picked over Rishabh Pant. R Ashwin gets the nod ahead of Ravindra Jadeja as India go with three pacers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav. The decision to pick Prithvi Shaw as the opener might result in a few eyebrows raised.

Prithvi Shaw failed in both the warm-ups games at Drummoyne Oval and the Pink ball warm-up at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Prithvi Shaw managed 0,19 and 40 in the three innings that he got a chance in. As far as Rishabh Pant was concerned, his axing could be a bit unfair as he blasted a century off just 70-odd balls in the Pink Ball warm-up game. However, it must be stated that Rishabh Pant went after the part-timers and it came whe India were under control.

In the case of Wriddhiman Saha, although he scored two ducks in the two warm-ups, his knock of 54 helped India recover from a terrible position against an Australia A attack that had Michael Neser and James Pattinson, two players included in the Australia cricket team Test squad. In the past, Rishabh Pant has been slammed for his shoddy keeping while Wriddhiman Saha brings in experience and safety behind the stumps.

UPDATE: Here’s #TeamIndia’s playing XI for the first Border-Gavaskar Test against Australia starting tomorrow in Adelaide. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/WbVRWrhqwi

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 16, 2020

No place for KL Rahul

However, the decision to omit KL Rahul has raised plenty of eyebrows. KL Rahul was the leading run-scorer in IPL 2020 and was in great form in the limited-overs edition of the tour. KL Rahul has one century in Australia in 2015 in Sydney but his omission might be a tad harsh. In the pre-match press conference, Virat Kohli had indicated that either of Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw might get a chance and the decision to take KL Rahul in depended on the team composition.

“It all depends on the combination. Everyone is playing well. We have a lot of quality players. Hanuma Vihari has been solid and has grit and character. When Rohit Sharma comes back to the team, we have another established opener. KL, where he fits, that is a conversation we have to talk in depth. Whatever suits the team balance in the conditions is what we will go for. They are obviously very talented. Shubman has not gotten opportunities yet. As and when he gets it, it will be interesting to see. He is a confident man. Prithvi will be playing in Australia for the first time. Mayank Agarwal batted brilliantly without any baggage. They should not have any baggage of the past. They must be calculated,” Kohli said.

India playing 11 for Adelaide Test

Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami