Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 non-regular openers who can take Prithvi Shaw's spot at Adelaide

Prithvi Shaw injured his left-ankle while fielding during the third day of the practice match against Cricket Australia XI at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. As a consequence, he has been ruled out of the first Test at Adelaide.

The Test series is scheduled to begin at the Adelaide Oval on the 6th of December. With Shaw injured, India must be contemplating various opening batting options now. Ideally, Murali Vijay should replace Prithvi Shaw and open the batting alongside KL Rahul.

However, skipper Virat Kohli and the team management may consider other options too. Here are three non-regular openers who can be asked to replace Shaw as one of the openers for the first Test at Adelaide.

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#3 Parthiv Patel

Parthiv is the reserve wicket-keeper in the squad

Parthiv Patel has opened for India in six innings from his 38 innings at the Test level. He has been impressive while opening the batting and has scored 265 runs at an average of 53. His opening average is much better than his career average which stands at 31.13. The left-hander is consistent has also scored three fifties at the top of the order.

If Parthiv can open, India can bring in both Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari in the middle order. In such case, Pant is likely to miss out. This move will bring solidity to the lower middle-order.

Parthiv is the kind of player who can provide a brisk start to the Indian batting unit. While opening the batting, he scored runs at a strike-rate of 64.48. With Shaw injured and Rahul struggling for form, the southpaw is not a bad option at the top of the order.

#2 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma needs one breakthrough knock to revive his Test career

Rohit Sharma is going through a roller-coaster ride at the moment. While he is fast becoming one of the modern-day greats in the limited-overs formats, he is still struggling to establish himself in Tests despite making his debut in the format in 2013.

As things stand, Rohit is competing for a slot in the middle-order. With Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane locking two spots and Hanuma Vihari as well as Rishabh Pant also in contention, the elegant right-hander can be considered as an opening option. After all, he has scored most of his ODI runs while opening the batting.

Rohit has never opened the batting for India in Tests. He has played all his 43 innings in the middle-order. If given an opportunity at the top of the order, he has the potential to replicate his ODI magic in Tests as well.

#1 Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara played one of his best knocks when he opened the batting against Sri Lanka

Cheteshwar Pujara has opened the batting for India on six instances in his 64-match Test career. He has done a sterling job at the top of the order whenever required.

The right-hander played one of his best knocks when he opened the batting against Sri Lanka in the third Test of the 2015 series. On a seaming track at Colombo, Pujara scored a match-winning century. He carried his bat and scored 145 runs out of a total of 312 in the first innings to set-up helping India's series-sealing victory away from home.

With Shaw injured, the team management can think of trying a proven batsman like Pujara to take up the crucial opening slot. His ability to play long innings will come in handy if he opens the batting. He can fortify one end while the other batsmen can play aggressively around him.

If Pujara opens, India can bring in Rohit Sharma at the number three slot and infuse aggression into the batting line up.