India vs Australia Tests: 5 players to watch out for

With the Test series between India and Australia just around the corner, the spotlight would be on a few players, especially since many are in a spot of bother and under the scanner right now because of their recent performances. In addition, this series could be a catapult to something big and they could end up getting further opportunities based on how they perform here.

Many players are fighting for their slots in the team while there are others who are looking to cement their slots. Others come into this series with a point to prove to themselves and the rest of the world that they belong in the Test arena.

Let's have a look at the players whose performances will be under the microscope once the series begins:

#1 KL Rahul

14,13,17,26*, 16,4,33*,0 these are Rahul's score since his last 50 in an international outing. There is something going on with him which is hard to pinpoint but one thing is certain, he's just not been himself recently.

If you look at his record it gives more of a reflection that KL has not been himself for a long time now. A player who has shown such capability and such potential averages just in mid-30s after 31 tests is an appalling number.

With another failure in the practice game where Prithvi Shaw dominated yet again, Rahul is slowly but surely playing himself out of the eleven. In the previous series against West Indies, Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul were the first choice openers and with Rahul again getting a game above Murali Vijay in the practice game, it seems that he will be the preferred opener, at least for the First test.

A lot will depend on how Rahul recovers from this rut of low scores because if he doesn't, he will fall back in the line of potential openers for the team.

#2 Prithvi Shaw

Shaw Impressed again with a dominating 50 in the first practice game

There's nothing but positive things to say when you talk about this little dynamite that has jumped into the international arena and impressed everyone with his impetuosity and positive play in Test cricket.

At just 19 years of age and so many things to still learn, Shaw has shown that he can hold his own on the 22 yards of a cricket field. An instinctively aggressive batsman, Shaw hasn't tried to curb his natural play in any of the showings till now and has gone for his shots whenever the ball has been in the zone.

Coming to Australia of all places to play just his second series against a very formidable attack, the anticipation is running high to see what the little kid from Mumbai can do on those big grounds in Australia, where the ball bounces more than anywhere else in the world.

#3 Rohit Sharma

This might just be the last shot at test cricket for Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is already a Limited Overs legend. But at the same time, he has just not shined in Test cricket. In fact, it won't be too big a stretch to call him a failure at test level( especially when you have more centuries in T20Is than tests).

It's hard to find fault and pinpoint what Rohit Sharma lacks to succeed in Test cricket but so many times, it has come down to his shot selection at pivotal points of time. Many players find it tough to switch from a one-day mold to Tests and maybe that's where Rohit is struggling right now.

After getting innumerable chances to shine in Test cricket, it does look like this could be the last roll of the dice for him in Tests. For a player with 3 double hundreds in ODI cricket, surely succeeding in Tests should not be a problem, right?

#4 Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch needs

a big

innings to stamp his authority on the team and the opposition

As mentioned in one of the earlier articles after the T20 series culminated, Aaron Finch is in a spot of bother right now.

He was an automatic choice as a captain because of his record and the time for which he had been part of the team. However, unlike some players whose performances improve after getting the added responsibility of captaincy, Aaron Finch, on the other hand, has seen his performances nosedive and it's been a long time since he has made a sizeable contribution for the team.

This series could be the tipping point because if he doesn't perform and Australia end up getting the short end of the stick after the series then heads would roll and Finch could be the first one facing the heat among others in the team.

#5 Usman Khwaja

Khwaja Could stake a claim for the ODI side with a good series against India

There aren't that many batsmen for whom the term "Lazy Elegance" seems apt. Mark Waugh was one, Mohammed Azharuddin was another, Rohit Sharma in recent times can also be put in the same category.

Usman Khwaja, when he bats, stakes a claim to be named in the same breath as these greats. And recently what has worked for him is his improved fitness and temperament and the runs that have come as a result. He was by some distance the best batsman on the tour of Pakistan and would have been kicking himself when he got injured.

Now since he's fit and back he would be looking to spearhead the batting unit and try to break into the ODI unit before the World Cup. With D'Arcy Short not really scoring runs in a heap and Finch not really firing, if Khwaja is able to put together a great Test series, he could be able to get a breakthrough in the ODI team as well.

Finch did talk about the "Perform or Perish" model, didn't he?