Australian Test squad for India: The Roar's reaction

After much conjecture and many opinions, the Australian team for the upcoming four-match Test tour of India has finally been named. Here is The Roar‘s first reaction to Steve Smith’s squad.

The squad Australia named have only played a combined 16 tests in India, showing the inexperience of it, but Trevor Hohns in the press conference said he believes it will be an important opportunity for the youngsters to gain experience.

Four spinners have been selected in the Australian squad, with Mitchell Swepson selected to an Australian team for the first time after a strong summer. Ashton Agar, plus the duo of Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon are all in the squad.

Australia have also cut their all-rounder quota to just two, with Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh filling the spots. They will provide a balance pending on the way the attack forms – whether it’s two spinners playing or three quicks.

With only three quick bowlers being named in the squad though, it could be reasonably assumed the Aussies will have Mitchell Marsh playing in most of the series.

Steve Smith (captain)
There wasn’t exactly much of a case to leave the captain out now was there? Smith has had another superb summer, and while he didn’t score quite as many runs this time around as what he did against the West Indies and New Zealand, his form is strong.

He is the best player of spin in the country, and along with his tactics in the field will be a key man if Australia are to either win the series, win a Test or be competitive in what is going to be a very difficult series for Smith to keep his cool.

Ashton Agar
In what has confirmed the suspicions of some, Agar was drafted into the squad for the third Test against Pakistan as a training run for India.

While Agar was overlooked for the game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he has been included in the squad for India as a spinning all round option, something Australia will need plenty of once they hit the ground in India.

Whether Agar is the man for the job or will even get a look into the playing XI is another question though, given his form hasn’t been anything special in the Sheffield Shield.

Nonetheless, he can reliably do a job and will bowl relatively consistently is given the opportunity on tour.

Jackson Bird
Bird has developed nicely into Australia’s third seam option this summer and will have plenty on his plate once again backing up Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc if he is to get a run.

The problem for Bird on a tour like this is that Australia may not use three front line quicks more often than not, which may leave him sitting on the sidelines all tour.

While he is only one drop in form or injury away from coming into the side, it’s a case of the waiting game for Bird at the moment.

His selection is a good one though. Bird has been bowling with plenty of pace, swing and bounce and did nothing wrong when playing with Australia against Pakistan to suggest he wouldn’t be picked.

Peter Handscomb
The Victorian back-up keeper might have been the revelation of the summer after making his debut in Australia’s first victory over South Africa at the Adelaide Oval.

Handscomb has impressed with his technique and temperament from the start, immediately looking the part as he has piled up two Test centuries and two half-centuries in seven innings – not a bad strike rate for a bloke just starting out.

There could have been another motive behind Handscomb’s fast tracking to the Test team though – watchers of domestic cricket will know him as one of the best players of spin in the country – maybe only second to Steve Smith. For that reason, he could excel in India.

Josh Hazlewood
Just one of three pace bowlers selected, Hazlewood will have a massive role to play in India. Touted as Australia’s next Glenn McGrath, bowling in spells with the spinners will be incredibly important to keep the runs off at one end and build pressure.

The way he uses the new ball will also have plenty of say on the series, with Australia needing to pick up early wickets and get into the Indian middle order while the ball still has some shine on it.

At the end of the day, there was no way he or Starc was getting left out.

Usman Khawaja
I don’t like sitting here and saying Khawaja’s spot in the first XI is in jeopardy after the ridiculously strong summer he has had so far, but unfortunately, it is.

The only reason it needs to be put like that is because of Khawaja’s incredible weakness in playing spin. He has struggled in every trip to the sub-continent so far and this could be no different.

Khawaja may be able to lock down a spot for the first Test and any other’s played on better wickets, and there was no way he could be dropped from the squad, but opportunities might be limited for the Pakistan born Aussie.

Nathan Lyon
‘Niceeeeee Garrrry!’

I really did consider leaving it at that, but on we go – look, Lyon has his fair share of knockers, and he has never done much in Asia, but there is a feeling he might finally turn it around here.

If he can bowl a little bit slower, float balls and have more variation – something he looks to have worked on over the summer – then he could come up with a career defining performance.

Mitchell Marsh
The Australian selectors’ great love affair with the selectors is back – and by that, I mean Mitchell Marsh is back in the squad.

He was dropped halfway through the summer in favour of six batsmen at first and then Hilton Cartwright for the match at the SCG as the Aussies played two spinners.

Marsh has never had much fun at Test level in Asia – or anywhere for that matter, and if he does happen to get a run it could be a very long tour.

With pressure on though, it will be interesting to see if he can finally grab hold of one of the chances thrown his way over an extended period of time.

Shaun Marsh
Look, there’s one Marsh brother who was always a certainty for the trip to India and that’s Shaun.

While he has been injured ever since the second Test against South Africa, he was in some good form before it and demanded his place back through the weight of runs before the injury.

Matt Renshaw has come in and done a splendid job for Australia at the top of the order though and with both in the squad, Marsh will need to play a role that may not be what he is used to.

Still, there was no way he could have been left out of the squad.

Glenn Maxwell
Maxwell has been in and out of Australian teams a little bit in the last 24 months, but there is no reason he shouldn’t excel in India.

Of course, the reason he has been picked for this tour and not the home Tests is the off spin he can provide, bowling in longer than the average all-rounder spells for the Aussies if he is accurate enough.

His spin bowling will be crucial in India if he is picked though – generally, if Maxwell is picked then he will be joining either Lyon or O’Keefe as the sole back-up spinner and have plenty of work to do.

Steve O’Keefe
O’Keefe has had a little bit of an on again, off again Test career and will be under all sorts of pressure early in the series to make a statement about why he should be the team’s No.1 spin bowler ahead of Nathan Lyon.

There is almost no question Australia will adopt the two spinner approach for the first test, meaning O’Keefe will claim the second spot alongside Lyon.

While his bowling will be ridiculously important to the Australian cause, the battle against Lyon to become Australia’s premier spinner, especially on the sub-continent could be one of the sub-plots to watch here.

Matt Renshaw
The lanky Queensland opener might be in the squad for the tour of India – and it would have been ludicrous to leave him out – but the role he is going to play is, at this point anyway, still very much up in the air.

Darren Lehmann basically came out and said that Renshaw wasn’t guaranteed a spot, even after his massive effort at the SCG in what was just his fourth Test match.

Now, if Renshaw doesn’t get a spot on that form there is something wrong – but the problem is he took Shaun Marsh’s spot at the top of the order after he was injured and now seriously doesn’t want to give it back.

Mitchell Starc
If you remember the Sri Lankan tour just before the start of the Australian tour then you will know exactly what the value of Starc is.

Even with him firing, Australia were blown off the park so not only is the pressure on him from the get-go in the Indian series, but he must stay healthy and pick up early wickets every, single time.

Mitchell Swepson
The 23-year old, described by interim selector Trevor Hohns as a ‘good young attacking leg-spinner’ has been selected for his first Australian team of any kind.

In what comes as a little bit of a surprise, he was selected ahead of others including Adam Zampa for his first trip to India, something that Australia’s greatest – Shane Warne – has been calling for all summer.

Whether he gets a spot in the XI or not is another question, but with a career first-class average of 32, the selection does seem very left field.

Matthew Wade (wicket-keeper)
The conjecture over who should be the wicket keeper for the Australian’s has gone on all summer, and it seems the answer has finally been agreed on – by the selectors at least anyway.

General consensus suggests there are plenty of better wicket keepers going around than Matthew Wade and that the Victorian will get found out quite badly on the spinning decks of India.

Nonetheless, he has made the side amid a storm of controversy and it can be assured that everytime he goes anywhere near the ball in India, there will be someone watching to critique him.

The problem is, there is a real lack of class keepers in Australia just at the moment, especially to do the job on a spinning deck. While Peter Nevill might be a more sound choice, you have to wonder just how great the risk of not getting any runs from the crucial No.7 spot in India would be – although, there is no real guarantee Wade will score runs.

David Warner (vice-captain)
Warner finished the summer in stellar form, cracking a century in both the Boxing Day and New Years Tests against Pakistan.

While going to India will be a completely different environment, Warner is generally thought to be one of the better players of spin in the country and being one of the most experienced players in the side, there is no question the pressure on him.

As an aside, here is a likely XI with a couple of surprises for the first Test to be played in Pune on Thursday, February 23.

1. David Warner (vc)
2. Matt Renshaw
3. Shaun Marsh
4. Steve Smith (c)
5. Peter Handscomb
6. Mitchell Marsh
7. Matthew Wade (wk)
8. Stephen O’Keefe
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Josh Hazlewood
11. Nathan Lyon

Shaun Marsh needs to be picked somewhere, based on the form he displayed before being injured. While Khawaja is in form, he is the one who can’t play spin in the Australian order and if the selectors take that into account, he won’t play.

Despite that, Matt Renshaw could still be stood down from the side with Marsh to open and Khawaja to stay in his first drop role.

Mitchell Marsh is the other selection, and this one could well depend on the pitch. Glenn Maxwell could be selected into this role, however it will all depend on the balance of the team.

The balance will be decided by whether the selectors opt to place three frontline quicks, meaning Jackson Bird would likely come into the side, or they stick with the two spinner approach between O’Keefe and Lyon.

So, there it is – the squad for the tour. What do you make of it Roarers? Are any players lucky to be there and who else would you have had in there? And most importantly, can Australia beat India?

Let us know in the comments section below.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde