Today at the Optus Stadium, the much-awaited Test match between India and Australia is underway. India won the toss at a pivotal time and chose to bat first, hoping to lay a firm basis for the series. Beginning at 7:50 AM IST, this opening test of the five-match series spans November 22 through 26. Fans anxiously expect an amazing exhibition of cricket from both sides as teams including top players like Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins fight for the esteemed Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Jasprit Bumrah will captain the Indian cricket team for the first Test without Rohit Sharma, who is scheduled to join from the 2nd Test. 

Shubman is a noteworthy absentee from the playing XI of the Perth Test. As two debutants, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy will cap for the Indian Cricket Team against Australia. KL Rahul is salted to open the batting with Jaiswal. Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin failed to make it into the playing XI for the Perth Test. 

Why is Shubman Gill absent from the playing XI for the India vs Australia 1st Test?

After the toss, India won and opted to bat against the Australian side at Perth. The BCCI official X account provided a major update on Shubman Gill’s absence. Owing to an injury, Shubman Gill hurt his left thumb during match simulation at The WACA and will miss the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test. Daily monitoring for rehab is continuing for the batter.

Playing XI for India vs Australia 1st Test

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, and Josh Hazlewood

India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj

India vs Australia: Full Squad

India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj, Sarfaraz Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Abhimanyu Easwaran

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