The Indian cricket team has announced their playing eleven for the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting on Saturday, December 26.
India have made four changes, two of them forced, to their starting eleven that suffered a humiliating defeat to Australia in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj will make their Test debuts in the second Test match of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While Gill will replace an out-of-form Prithvi Shaw, Siraj makes the cut in place of injured Mohammed Shami, who has been ruled out of the Test series with a wrist fracture.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has been selected in the team to replace regular captain Virat Kohli, who has returned to India to attend the birth of his first child.
Team India has dropped wicket-keeper batsman Wriddiman Saha and brought in the swashbuckling Rishabh Pant in the playing eleven. The BCCI made the announcement through a social media post on Friday.
ALERT🚨: #TeamIndia for 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia to be played in MCG from tomorrow announced. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4g1q3DJmm7
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 25, 2020
On the other hand, Australia head coach Justin Langer has hinted that the hosts will remain unchanged for the second Test starting on Saturday.
"I'll be a pretty courageous man to change the playing XI this Test match after the last one. Unless something happens over the next few days and that can in the world we live in but we are going with the same XI," Langer said in a virtual press-conference on Thursday.
Australia are leading 1-0 in the four-match Test series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21.
India playing XI for 2nd Test vs Australia
Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
Feature image courtesy: AFP/ William West
