Jasprit Bumrah to captain India; Nitish Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal likely to make their test debuts in Perth

by Tejas Rathi
India to be led by Jasprit Bumrah in the Perth test against Australia, with Nitish Reddy and Devdutt Padikkal making their test debuts.

Jasprit Bumrah is confirmed to be leading the Indian side for the opening test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth. This comes on the wake of Rohit Sharma’s unavailability for this fixture due to the birth of his second child.

Bumrah has led India in only one Test in 2022 against England. The game saw Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow score centuries to help England level the five-match test series 2-2. With Rohit at the helm, he has been serving as the vice-captain of the test team.

Moreover, all-rounder Nitish Reddy and Devdutt Padikkal are reportedly set to make their test debuts. The recent two-match unofficial test series between India A and Australia A witnessed Reddy scoring 71 runs off four innings and picked up a solitary wicket. Nevertheless, he is being looked upon as a replacement for Hardik Pandya in the longest format, and the Australia series will serve as a crucial experience for him.

Meanwhile, Padikkal makes a case for himself after scoring 151 runs in the Australia A series, with a top knock of 88. He previously scored three fifties in the Duleep Trophy. He is expected to bat at No. 3 in place of Gill, who injured his left thumb during an intra-squad game.

Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna are vying for the role of a third pacer, with Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as the two frontline pacers. Rana picked eight wickets in Duleep Trophy, and picked a total of seven wickets in a solitary Ranji Trophy appearance. Playing for India A, Krishna proved his worth on Australian pitches by taking 10 wickets in the two-match unofficial test series.

Sourav Ganguly wants Sarfaraz Khan to play India-Australia Perth test

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has come out in support of Sarfaraz Khan, who is reportedly not among the players featuring in India’s XI for the opening test against Australia. This comes after critics doubting Sarfaraz’s abilities to perform on Australian pitches, given he hasn’t had exposure playing on fast surfaces.

Ganguly thinks Sarfaraz should be provided an opportunity to prove his worth. He also slammed the critics by saying that the right-hander should not be written off, given his commendable record in first-class cricket.

“You have to give him a chance to know. How can you say anything without giving him an opportunity? Let him fail first. He has scored tons of runs in domestic cricket and has earned his spot in the team. No one has given it to him. So don’t write him off before you have given him a chance,” Ganguly said to RevSportz.

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