Adelaide, Australia

India skipper Rohit Sharma returned to lead the side in the pink-ball Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia on Friday (Dec 6) after missing the opening contest in Perth. Rohit sat out of the Perth Test due to paternity leave and will return to play in the middle-order after KL Rahul’s heroics at the top. Notably, Shubman Gill and Ravichandran Ashwin were also back in the Playing XI after missing out in the Perth Test.

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Rohit back in Team India

Having skipped the record-breaking win in Perth, Rohit was one of three changes to the Indian side as he returned to lead the side. The Indian skipper has an important role to play in the side with India chasing a place in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) which will be held at Lord’s. With Rahul impressing in the second innings of the opening contest, Rohit will drop to the middle-order in the Test format for the first time since 2018.

This change meant Jasprit Bumrah was dropped to deputy captaincy duties after leading India to a famous win, while Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, and Washington Sundar were axed from the Playing XI.

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Australia on the other hand had confirmed their Playing XI on Thursday as Josh Hazlewood made way for Scott Boland. He was the only change in the squad as the hosts continue to go with three frontline seamers partnered by Nathan Lyon in the spin department.

Teams:

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Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Nitish Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj