Indian National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir and his coaching staff have already made some key decisions regarding the playing XI for the first Test against the Australian National Cricket Team in Perth.
Gautam Gambhir & Co. have decided to hand Harshit Rana, a 22-year-old right-arm pacer who has played just 10 first-class matches in his career, his Test debut cap.
Also read: Nitish Reddy has completed his playing XI for the Perth Test against Australia in India
Harshit Rana impressed Gautam Gambhir and other coaches in the match simulation
According to a recent report by TOI, young right-arm pacer Harshit Rana impressed everyone with his bowling performance in the match simulation.
Rana has been particularly impressive with his batting and now the team management has decided to hand him the Test cap in Perth.
“Harshit was very impressive in the match simulation in Perth, especially while bowling the bouncers. There is a good chance that he will make his India debut in Perth,” a source told TOI.
Notably, he was selected as the net bowler for India’s recent three-match home Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team. After that, he was directly included in India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 squad.
Harshit Rana has played less than 50 games in First-class, List-A and T20 cricket in his cricketing career but has done a great job for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2024 winning campaign.
In 13 matches, he took 19 wickets at an average of 20.15, an economy of 9.08 and a strike rate of 13.3. Gautam Gambhir was following him closely as he was the mentor of the franchise at the time.
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill ruled out of Perth Test
Indian National Cricket Team captain Rohit Sharma as well as star No.3 batsman Shubman Gill will miss the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Rohit Sharma will be unavailable as Shubman Gill has decided to stay in Mumbai for a while after the birth of their second child while Shubman Gill is injured.
The Indian skipper and his family were blessed with a baby boy on November 15 and he was expected to fly to Australia for the opening Test series, but that was not to be.
Shubman Gill injured his thumb while sliding during the match simulation. Scans later revealed the fracture and he will miss the first match.
Devdutt Padikkal will be India’s No.3
With Rohit Sharma and Shumban Gill unavailable, the BCCI was forced to ask talented batsman Devdutt Padikkal, who is on tour with the India A team for two four-day games, to remain in India’s main squad as a stand-in.
Padikkal will be added to the 18-man Test squad and is likely to take up the No.3 position in the Perth Test. “He will now bat at No. 3,” a reliable source told TOI.
In the unofficial test matches against Australia A, Devdutt Padikkal did not perform out of the ordinary and scored 36, 88, 26 and 1 for India A. However, his experience and familiarity with Australian conditions made the BCCI pick him. Like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan.
