3 takeaways from India's squad for first 2 Tests vs Australia

The national selectors on Friday, January 13, named India's squad for the first two Tests against Australia to be played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February-March.

Rohit Sharma will lead the hosts while KL Rahul will be his deputy. Rohit missed the Test series in Bangladesh having hurt his finger during the ODI rubber prior to it and Rahul deputized for him to lead India to a 2-0 whitewash.

While a number of selections were along expected lines, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah remain two massive absentees. While Pant is currently recovering from knee surgery after being involved in a horrific car accident, Bumrah's rehabilitation from a back stress fracture is taking longer.

Aside from that, there are certain surprises visible in the squad. Let's assess three takeaways from the contingent named for the first two games against Australia, with the opener to be played in Nagpur from February 9.

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#1 Selectors punt on Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan

Call it a case of mixing formats (again) or taking a gamble on two exceedingly talented players, but Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have made it to India's Test squad for the Australia series. With Sarfaraz Khan omitted again despite the truckload of runs he has been piling at the first-class level, it is a questionable decision on the part of the selectors.

Of course, Kishan has potentially made it as the backup wicketkeeper, with KS Bharat likely to debut in the first Test. The logic behind this stems from the fact that Bharat has been part of the setup for a long time now as Pant's understudy.

Although Kishan's first-class batting average of 38.76 isn't very inspiring, he did turn out for Jharkhand in a couple of Ranji Trophy games this season. Having scored a century too in one of them, he will want to show that he belongs at this level should he get an opportunity.

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#2 Ravindra Jadeja selected subject to fitness again

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been named in India's squad for the first two matches against Australia. However, he is yet to play a competitive game since being ruled out halfway through the Asia Cup last year.

Having not declared fit for the tour of Bangladesh despite initially being named, the rehabilitation process has extended longer for the Saurashtra superstar.

One would think it makes prudent sense for him to prove his match fitness in the Ranji Trophy before making his international comeback. With Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Kuldeep Yadav to turn to, India are sorted on the spin-bowling front.

Yet, with Pant not available, Jadeja's batting temperament under pressure, coupled with his left-handed variety, has perhaps never been more valuable than at this point. The hosts will be pinning their hopes on their talisman to recover in time for the first Test in Nagpur.

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#3 India's bowling strength comfortably outweighs its batting

It goes without saying that India's sustained excellence in Test cricket over the last few years has been down to their bowlers standing up to be counted. The squad for the first half of the series against Australia paints a similar picture in that their bowlers will have to do the bulk of the heavy lifting.

That India have a world-class seam attack to call upon despite Bumrah's absence further validates this fact. A look at the batting department in Pant's absence doesn't give the same kind of confidence, though.

Virat Kohli's spin game has been on the decline, while Rohit wouldn't have played a Test in close to 11 months when he takes the field against Australia. Rahul endured a tough time in Bangladesh too and in the last couple of years, it has been Pant, Jadeja, Ashwin, and Shreyas Iyer turning in rescue acts on a regular basis.

Clearly, the top-order must step up against a quality Australian bowling unit, or else it could make life difficult with the World Test Championship (WTC) final on the line.

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What do you make of India's squad for the first two Tests against Australia? Let us know in the comments section below!

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