India Elects to Bat First in BGT Opener, Debut for Nitish and Harshit

India have handed debuts to seam-bowling all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, with Washington Sundar being the lone spinner, as stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at the Perth Stadium.

India had won the last two Test series played in Australia, each by a margin of 2-1, in both 2018/19 and 2020/21. They also had been trophy holders since 2016/17. Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli bestowed upon Harshit and Nitish their debut Test cap.

Apart from Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj completing the four-man pace attack, India have also sprung in a surprise by selecting Washington as their lone spinner ahead of stalwarts like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

"We know what to expect, the wicket gets quicker after the first session. We're pretty confident. For our batters and team (the WACA practice), it was a great experience. We played a Test here in 2018 so we know what to expect", said Bumrah.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will open the innings, with Devdutt Padikkal batting at number three in place of the injured Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, regular skipper Rohit Sharma is scheduled to join the team on November 24 as he stayed back home for the birth of his second child.

The BCCI said that Gill was not considered for the selection of the first Test as a left thumb injury was sustained on Day Two of the match simulation at WACA and the medical team is monitoring his progress on a daily basis.

On the other side, Australia have given a debut to a batter named Nathan McSweeney, who received his first Test cap from former player Darren Lehmann. This makes him the 467th player who has played Tests for Australia.

"We're pretty 50/50. Good wicket here — the sun's out, either way, we're pretty happy. Feel fresh ready to go. Any format we (India-Australia) play seems fiercely fought. The wickets out the back have been nice and bouncy. So hopefully a bit of pace and bounce this week," said Cummins.

Playing XIs:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Siraj

Australia: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood

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