Ind vs Aus, 1st Test: Shaw, Saha get nod ahead of Gill, Pant in playing XI

India's playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Adelaide: Prithvi Shaw and Wriddhiman Saha have been named in India’s playing XI for the first Test against Australia, beginning on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval.

India’s playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.

The Virat Kohli-led side has chosen to go in with three seamers and one spinner in the first Test. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Umesh Yadav are the three pacers while Ravichandran Ashwin has been chosen as the lone spinner.

The side has opted to go in with six batsmen in the line-up. Wriddhiman Saha has been given the nod as the wicket-keeper for the first Test. There was speculation as to who will play the first Test as wicket-keeper after Rishabh Pant scored a century in the second innings of the pink-ball practice game.

Prithvi Shaw has been given the nod ahead of Shubman Gill as an opener alongside Mayank Agarwal in the first Test. The 21-year-old Gill had impressed in the two practice games he played for the Indians. In the second practice game that was played with the pink ball, Gill registered scores of 43 and 65 against Australia A.

On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw has coped a fair share of criticism from greats like Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. The two legendary batsmen had echoed the sentiment of Shaw playing too many shots in Test cricket.

Earlier in the day, skipper Kohli had addressed a press conference where he talked about the youngsters like Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw in the side. Talking about Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, Kohli said: “Shubman has not gotten opportunities at this level yet in Test cricket, as and when he gets an opportunity, it would be interesting to see how he goes about things because he is a very confident young man. Prithvi has performed at the Test level but he would be playing in Australia for the first time. I think it is very exciting to see his progress as well.

“Mayank did well here when he last came during the 2018-19 series. It is exciting to have young guys in the field, you can literally tell them to enjoy their skillsets in the middle,” he added.
The first Test of the series, a pink-ball contest, will begin on December 17 in Adelaide. Australia had won the ODI series while the Men in Blue walked away with the honours in the T20I series.