Yadav out, India mull pace debutant at SCG

Correction, he has never opened outside india in test cricket. He only starting opening last year and played 5 games so far as an opener,all of them in india. I would think a lot depends on the type of wicket at Sydney. If it's similar to the one india last played on ,then it's probably going to be his best shot to succeed as an opener,outside the subcontinent. If he still fails i wont put it past the team management trying to use vihari again, as a makeshift opener in the last test .

but his numbers as an opener in recent Test series have been ordinary outside India. Are they swapping one problem for another if they replace Agarwal with Rohit? I guess we'll see soon enough

Natarajan in place of Thakur, as he is a left-arm bowler.

With Rohit and Rahul both are likely to play in the 3rd Test at Sydney, there is a possibility that Gill may end up playing at No.5.

Rohit is the captain of the Mumbai indians ,which is one of the most successful t20 team out there and has collected more silverware in the IPL than even dhoni (in lesser number of years) . He has captained the indian ODI and T20i teams occasionally, with good numbers to show for it, in that limited sample size. So a test vice captaincy,even temporarily seems to be the next step for him. He likes to open,he has hinted that various times( Even going as far as to immaturely liking a post on social media 2 years ago, which took a dig at Rahul’s form as a test opener),even though in interviews he states he is willing to take any spot given to him. Plus the management and the other members around the team likes Vihari. He is someone who is willing to bat anywhere(opened last time india toured australia),has shown decent temperament, in his willingness to bat out tough period even if runs doesn’t come,and can also bowl part time off spin if the need ever arose. Meanwhile agarwal is avg 7 this tour so far with his ability to even see off the new ball being questionable at this moment. So i would think getting rohit in for agarwal is what they are planning to do.

yep, only just saw that. Not sure how thrilled Pujara would be, unless he was told early on he was going to be vc for 2 Tests only. Rohit's batted quite a bit down the order in Tests. Why wouldn't he simply replace Vihari?

I think we are in agreement Dat - Pujara has his position locked down for now, though of course there's only so long the team can carry him; I think the spotlight could shine on him quickly in the upcoming home series if he doesn't get runs against England. That said, it will depend on how India is performing against England; India winning the first couple of Tests would take any pressure off. Or England winning could really turn up the heat on Pujara. I do expect India to find a spot for Gill though; be it Mayank or Vihari. He's quality. Fair point re the quicks, though if Bumrah continues as he has in this series, it would surely be difficult to just discard him against England, even if at home?

Rohit has been appointed as the vice capt as soon as he was match fit. So one of the openers is going to make way. Agarwal is probably the one going to be dropped, though they have the option to drop Vihari as well and then shift Gill down the order.

Gill wont be playing over Pujara anytime soon. Pujara’s been having a lean patch since his last test in Sydney,but his record at home in that period is still decent(42 avg in 5 games) . So no one is going to challenge him for his spot anytime soon i reckon. Agarwal has got himself into a mess with his high backlift and not being able to bring his bat down in time. If he doesn’t sort it out in this series(provided rohit isn’t going to replace him) and gill does end up impressing ,that’s the spot Gill is likely to take, if he becomes a regular in the 11. I am not sure whether Bumrah will play the tests against England or will they just play him selectively in away series(as he plays almost every whiteball series for india). If bumrah does make the 11, it’s likely at the expense of Ishant as Shami and Umesh are india’s go to quicks at home . With their bowling avg of 21 and 24 in India, they been as important as the spin duo in making india close to unbeatable at home, since virat took over(think india lost only 1 test at home in the last 6 years).

Rohit's been very successful as an opener in recent times though?

I'd drop them both and go for the win in Sydney as if its the last test Gill Rahul Pujara Rahane Rohit Pant Jadeja Ashwin Thakur Bumrah Siraj

I thought he looked really good opening, except for regularly catching the edge and those carrying - say unlike the soft way Pujara or even Rahane play. So my main concern would be nicking out as an opener, in SENA at least. If you go with Gill to open, do you drop Agarwal? Rohit is too good a player to leave out if he's match fit.

I think it would be a mistake to drop gill down to the middle order for the third test. He’s in good form, striking the ball well and has been key is wresting some initial momentum India’s way. He’s good enough to play the Sehwag/Warner role in the long term

Pujara is a lock at 3 for as long as he wants it. He's bailed India out before with his dogged workmanlike innings. India is famously competitive with a bottomless pool of talent but he's built up goodwill to save him. IMO, India's best lineup is Rohit Mayank Pujara Kohli..kl rahul this series Rahane Gill Jadeja Ashwin Bumrah Siraj Natarajan Without Kohli, you can slot in kl rahul.. Strong lineup, all those boys are the big man in their home states and IPL trans Teams and all average around 50. I forgot pant. He reminds me of Gilly.. Clean hitting lefty who can take a game from you when the bowlers are fatiguing. India's team is setting up nicely for the next 5 year period. You can build around bumrah Gill and pant whilst Kohli and Rohit retire Rohit had bad luck to come at virats time, hes so talented.

Yeah, it’s a good problem to have. Even if Pujara doesn’t fire for the rest of this series, I reckon he’ll still be there for the First Test in Chennai, especially if India were to win this series. But given his performances over the last couple of years, yeah I reckon the heat will be well and truly on him if he doesn’t go big early under the spotlight of a home series. _____ The again, if you play both Jadeja and Ashwin in Chennai – seems like a given, then the First Test XI may very well be: Rohit Agarwal Gill Kohli Rahane Jadeja Saha Ashwin Ishant Shami Bumrah ___ That’s a very good side in home conditions. Or if Agarwal doesn’t get runs here, then does Gill get pushed back to open and retain Pujara at #3?

I reckon Pujara might be in a spot of bother heading back to India, if he doesn't get some runs in Oz. Gill could easily slot in at 3, leaving Rahane at 5 with Pant/Jadeja at 6 or 7 then the bowlers. If Pujara does get runs, the Indian selectors will have a very pleasant problem to solve - which form batsman to leave out.

Push Rahane down to 5 though? I feel like they need the experience of Rahane at 4 whilst Virat is out. Wow does it look once Virat is back in? -Rohit -Agarwal -Pujara -Kohli -Gill -Rahane — It’s an interesting one for India’s upcoming series against England.

Agreed about Agarwal & Rohit, but I'd have Gill at 4. I reckon long term, he's got the technique to be a great 3 or 4 batsman for India.

Agarwal has had a lean 2020, but then so has Vihari. If Rohit is available (bearing in mind he hasn't played a FC match since November 2019), I think it makes more sense to have the aggression of Rohit partnered with Agarwal and I would drop Vihari and push Gill down to #5 where I think his tendency to play an Australian-like hard-at-the-ball game would better suit him once the edge is off the new ball.

Tough decision for India. Siraj is a lock, there's no way they'd play Kuldeep, given the form shown by Ashwin & Jadeja, while the others choices are likely to leak runs, which is exactly what Australia would want. The bigger call IMO is what to do at the top of the order. Does Agarwal get dropped for Rohit, assuming they keep Gill after his efforts in Melbourne?