IND vs AUS 1st Pink-Ball D/N Test: KL Rahul & Shubman Gill to warm the bench in Series opener

IND vs AUS 1st Pink-Ball D/N Test: 

• Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal are all set to open for Team India in the series against Australia
• Virat Kohli had confirmed the duo's selection for the Pink-ball D/N Adelaide Test
• KL Rahul and Shubman Gill will warm the bench for the series opener

Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced India's playing XI for the famous 'Pink-ball' D/N Test kick-starting tomorrow in Adelaide. However, a lot of questions have been raised on the selection. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were not picked by the selection committee and that has become the red-hot point ahead of the series opener. It is uncertain as to why BCCI is spending chances on Prithvi Shaw despite his poor run of form since IPL 2020.

According to the See latest sources, Prithvi Shaw's failure could result in his exclusion from the team. KL Rahul, who has been in peak form in recent times and deserves to be picked in India's Playing XI. Rishabh Pant after hitting a blistering century in the second warm-up game was also not included in the team.

Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal should have opened for India in the opening Test. Wriddhiman Saha had picked instead of in-form Rahul and Pant as a wicket-keeper.

Also Read - Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border back Shubman Gill to open in Adelaide Test

Skipper Virat Kohli said at the press conference "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," Kohli further added.

Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team holds the 'Border-Gavaskar Trophy' after winning by 2-1 against Australia in the 2018-19 series. This is India's first-ever series win on Australian soil in Tests. As Team India's regular skipper Virat Kohli set to leave after the first Test due to his parental duties. India will definitely miss the services of their captain to go ahead into the four-match test series.

India’s playing XI for 1st Test against Australia:

India Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav