As soon as the ongoing Test match between India and New Zealand in Pune comes to an end, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) committee led by Ajit Agarkar is expected to announce the Rohit Sharma-led team's squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
India's final assignment of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle will be a blockbuster affair, with the team set to play five Test matches in Australia. The visitors will not just want to seal their place in the 2025 WTC final but also hope to complete a hat-trick of series victories on Australian soil.
India face a major selection headache having moved on from several stars of their victories on the last two tours of Australia. With no Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian team will have a new-look batting unit this time around.
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There is doubt over skipper Rohit or Virat Kohli's place while the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill have cemented their place as the backbones of India's top order. Sarfaraz Khan is another youngster who has taken Test cricket by storm and should find his name on the flight to Australia.
Although KL Rahul was dropped from India's playing XI for the Pune Test, he is set to make the squad that will travel down under, as the team is unlikely to make wholesale changes ahead of such a big series. However, he will face a fight to be part of the playing XI.
The one missing hole in India's squad is that of a backup opener, which has taken added importance with news that Rohit might miss one match. The spot is set to go to an uncapped player, with Ruturaj Gaikwad leading the race after being named captain of the India-A squad travelling to Australia. However, he faces tough competition from Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan.
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There have been reports that Cheteshwar Pujara might earn a comeback, but he has not been in the squad for the last 16 months, and the selectors not calling him up during the injury crisis against England showed that the team has moved past him.
Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are set to be named as the two wicket-keeper batters in the squad.
How Will India's Bowling Unit Look Like In Australia
India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate revealed the team will travel to Australia with a 'battery of pacers.' Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep are set to be guaranteed picks but beyond that, the team faces a big challenge.
They are likely to get a major boost in the form of Mohammed Shami, who is reportedly set to be fit in time for the second half of the series. After getting a call-up to the national team for the first time during the Bangladesh series, left-arm quick Yash Dayal is likely to get the nod too.
With Shami unlikely to be fit for the start of the series, India will need another pacer in the main squad, and that could be a toss-up between Prasidh Krishna, who is part of the travelling reserves against New Zealand, and Mukesh Kumar, who is part of the A-team. Prasidh could get the nod as his ability to generate extra bounce will work in his favour.
With Hardik Pandya showing no signs of making a red-ball comeback, India are still searching for a pace-bowling all-rounder, and this could mean Nitish Kumar Reddy is fast-tracked. The 21-year-old's inclusion in the reserves against New Zealand and his selection for the 'A' tour against Australia instead of the T20I series against South Africa is a strong indication that he will be part of India's BGT squad.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are no-brainer picks in the spin department. Australia will allow the team to field two spinners at some venues, which could mean a third spinner is picked. Kuldeep Yadav should pip Axar Patel and Washington Sundar if that is the case with his past success in Australia working in his favour.
India Predicted Squad For Test Series vs Australia: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Yash Dayal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav.