India announce the playing XI for the third Test

What's the story

India has announced the playing XI for the third Test against Australia. The Indian team will be missing Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI as he has been left out due to an abdominal strain that he suffered after the first Test. The off-spinner missed the second Test as well pending to the same problem. Howbeit, Rohit Sharma who missed the second Test due to an injury, will be returning to the team for the Boxing Day Test as he has fully recovered from the injury.

The background

Having won the first Test at Adelaide, the Indian team went on to lose the second Test by a hefty margin of 146 runs. With the loss, the Indian team selection came under the scanner. More so, the Indian openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul had to face the heat as yet again both of them failed to score runs for India.

Owing to Rahul and Vijay's sorry run in the first and the second Test and Shaw's unfortunate injury, the Indian team drafted Mayank Agarwal and Hardik Pandya into the squad for the rest of the series.

The heart of the matter

With Ashwin set to miss the Boxing Day Test due to an injury, the Indian team has decided to drop Rahul and Vijay from the playing XI as well. This axing doesn't come as a surprise as the two have been struggling considerably with the bat.

Mayank Agarwal is set to replace KL Rahul in the third Test. Meanwhile, no new opener has been added to the playing XI in place of Murali Vijay. Hence, Hanuman Vihari or Rohit Sharma will be opening the innings alongside Mayank in the Boxing Day Test.

Meanwhile, India has also included Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI who will be replacing his partner-in-crime Ashwin who has been deemed unfit to play. Moreover, Umesh Yadav also missed the bus as India opted for 3+1 (three pacers and one spinner) combination.

India name Playing XI for 3rd Test: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/DImj8BVTj5

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 24, 2018

India's Playing XI for the 3rd Test: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah.