Australia vs India 2014-15: MS Dhoni set to join Indian team ahead of first Test in Adelaide

MS Dhoni might return for the first Test in Adelaide

Regular Indian captain MS Dhoni is now expected to join the Indian team ahead of the rescheduled first Test against Australia at Adelaide, starting on December 9. Earlier, Dhoni was supposed to join the team only after the completion of the first Test, which was due to be played in Brisbane from December 4, due to a hand injury. However, Phillip Hughes’ tragic demise, as a result of which the Test series has had to be rescheduled, means that he will be joining the team some time this week

The new schedule sees the Test series kick off in the South Australian capital from December 9-13, followed by the Brisbane Test from December 17-21. While the dates for the iconic Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) remain unchanged, the 4th Test at Sydney will start on January 6 as opposed to January 3.

India will play a practice game against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide on December 4 and 5 after their originally scheduled second practice game got cancelled due to Hughes’ death. While Dhoni will be unavailable for the practice game, Indian team spokesperson Dr Redhills Baba said that he will join well ahead of the Adelaide Test, potentially robbing Virat Kohli, who has been named captain for the start of the series, of a captaincy debut in Test cricket.

Hughes’ funeral, meanwhile, is set to take place at 2pm in Macksville on Wednesday, and the entire Australian cricketing community is expected to be present to bid their goodbyes to the sturdy left-hander. On the Indian team’s behalf, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, coach Duncan Fletcher, team director Ravi Shastri and team manager Arshad Ayub will be attending the funeral.

The team management, however, expects the three players to return in time for the two-day tour game, which starts on Thursday.

Cricket Australia (CA) CEO James Sutherland said that there will no pressure whatsoever on the players to play the first Test, with each member having the luxury to decide whether they would be in the right place emotionally to face the rigours of a five-day Test match.

"Right now there's a funeral tomorrow and let's just understand that's going to be difficult enough as it is," Sutherland said in Sydney before departing for Macksville.

"There will be a great temptation for people to speculate about who's going to play and how they are feeling. I encourage everyone to give the players their space.

"No one will think ill of anyone who feels uncomfortable about playing. Test cricket is a different game. It is not just going out there and playing a game of sport for a couple of hours. You need to go out there and commit to five days. It will be up to the individual. Any player that is not comfortable or doesn't fell right, or there is medical advice to suggest that they are not quite right, then we will obviously understand that and I am sure the broader public will understand that as well," he added.