India’s batting prodigy Prithvi Shaw, who has been likened to Sachin Tendulkar and mentored by the cricket legend, will play his first Test in Australia but chirpy wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has been axed.
Tim Paine opted against naming an XI for the day-night Test, wanting to keep the tourists guessing before Thursday’s toss at Adelaide Oval.
Virat Kohli adopted a different approach, getting on the front foot prior to his first and final Test of the summer.
Shaw logged scores of zero, 19, 40 and three in India’s tour games but was always expected to open alongside Mayank Agarwal.
It comes two years after Shaw, then 19 years old, suffered a freakish ankle injury in Sydney that forced him to miss the entire 2018/19 series.
Shaw’s technique and talent has resulted in multiple comparisons with India’s greatest batsman, especially after the teenager became the youngest Indian to make a Test century since Tendulkar.
“Prithvi has performed at Test level but he will be playing in Australia for the first time, so I think it’s very exciting to see his progress,” Kohli said.
“Mayank came through last time we toured here and he batted brilliantly without any baggage, that’s what you expect from the younger guys.
“They’ve got no baggage from the past, they just go out there and express themselves … play that brand of fearless cricket.”
The most contentious call was deciding whether incumbent Pant or fit-again veteran Wriddhiman Saha should get the gloves.
India opted to select 36-year-old Saha ahead of 23-year-old Pant, who was a vocal presence behind the stumps throughout their landmark triumph two years ago.
India great Sunil Gavaskar, whose name adorns the trophy that the sides are vying for, is among the pundits who felt Pant should have been given the nod.
Saha’s superior glovework ultimately trumped Pant’s form with the bat.
Pant scored 103 not out, including 22 runs off the final over of India’s innings, during the recent pink-ball tour game at the SCG.
Saha, who missed the IPL finals after tweaking both hamstrings, was out for a duck in the same match.
However, India coach Ravi Shastri recently declared Saha is the “best gloveman in the world”.
Umesh Yadav will join offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin plus star pacemen Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in a potent attack.
Meanwhile, Kohli suggested Steve Smith’s sore back would have zero impact on India’s plans for the top-ranked Test batsman in the world.
India XI: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
Gurlivleen Grewal
Roar Pro
Exactly - calling him Sachin just because he looks like one, has a bat by the same sponsor is pretty mediocre insight. He is indeed akin to Sehwag who primarily struggled against high-quality pace where the ball was moving a bit. Even against the international attacks, he has faced in the subcontinent, and good bowlers in the IPL - his side on technique, limited footwork, difficulty against short ball are all apparent. I bet he won't score that many against the same WI attack in WI - the pitches nowadays have a bit of spice. If Kohli can be taken apart by Anderson, what chance does his technique have - there is a clear step up in Internationals vs domestic cricket.
Backrower
Guest
I’d pick Dhawan ahead of any of the 4 openers in this match.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Dhawan has never been Test class outside India...Rahul will probably play some time this series but he has been a bit loose
Paul
Roar Guru
The commentators are calling Shaw another Tendulkar but I thought he was more a Sehwag, who was a bit more loose with his technique than Sachin
Gurlivleen Grewal
Roar Pro
It is amazing that everybody who is a bit knowledgeable can predict that Shaw will struggle but the team chose him over Gill. Mind you his technique is not loads better - but at least his way out of a hole is not just trying to go bang bang. Works in the subcontinent, against mediocre attacks. People often fall for the million-dollar shots to call someone the next great but it is how they do the things in between that decide careers.
Backrower
Guest
Any team that can leave out Dharwan and KL is a strong one. And Jadeja.
Paul
Roar Guru
Shubman Gill must feel stiff, given how he played in the leadup games. Not a bad backup though if something happens to one of the Test batsmen. The Aussie quicks should be delighted Shaw's playing. Stack the offside from cover point through to gully and he'll gift a catch as he recently did in Sydney.
McBumble
Guest
An exciting young talent and one to watch in the future. As stated, the IND batting lineup is far more settle and have more guys who could occupy a wicket for a day (Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari) and amass runs, AUS have 2 guys (Smith, Labs) who could do that. Shaw will look to exploit Starc early and drill alot of pumping runs. Comparing the IND openers to AUS openers, it is clear that IND have the advantage both now and in the near future. AUS need to find some guys to replace Warner in the next 3-5 years. Guys who have the potential in the past have since been discarded by Hohns such as Silk, Weatherald, Maddinson etc. I applaud India for continually finding these talents. Hohns should pay attention and see how it is managed elsewhere. All the best for a good test match !
Kalva
Roar Rookie
Winning the first Test is almost always the deciding factor but I don't buy this idea that India have to win with Kohli there because it will be impossible without him if they're 1-0 down. Kohli is a great batsman and India will definitely miss his batting and his overall presence, but as a captain, he's very up and down... Rahane is a calm presence and as long as he is batting well, I think India will do fine whether they win or lose in Adelaide. 2 examples- Kohli was missing for the final Test of the 2017 series which was 1-1 and Rahane took over and India won easily. - 2nd is in 2014-15, India were a far weaker team to now and Aussies were stronger and although Aus won 2-0, India gave a good account of themselves and even had some moments which could have turned the series their way... think India will be okay.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
The whole Steve Smith sore back thing is certainly overblown. Just a media storm in a teacup. As Paine said, he'd batted his normal ridiculously long stints in the nets for four days in a row prior to that. Not surprising to get a bit of a stiff back after that, and as Paine said, having a forced days rest 2 days out from the test may well be a very good thing for him. Will be a very interesting series. India will definitely miss Kohli after this first test, which makes it hard to see how they can win the series if they lose this one. If they will the first test then they can take that momentum into the next test without Kohli. But it's hard not to feel that if India lose the first match with Kohli there, then once he's gone it's going to be really hard to come back from there, as much for his loss of leadership as his batting.
redbackfan
Roar Rookie
shaw was a walking wicket to the short quick ball in the ipl, and was dropped for a few games i think. didnt look much like tendulkar to me. pant looks, politely, "out of condition" which may have been a factor