IND Vs AUS, 1st Test: Suryakumar Yadav To Make Debut? Star Batter’s Pic With Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid Goes Viral

The first Test between India and Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur on Thursday.

Nagpur: Should Shubman Gill open the innings with Rohit Sharma at the expense of out-of-form vice-captain KL Rahul? Should India play both Gill and Rahul and leave out Suryakumar Yadav? Should Suryakumar Yadav fills the Shreyas Iyer void at No.5?

The Indian playing XI against Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been the hot topic for the last couple of days. Although experts have weighed upon both Gill and Suryakumar to be included in the playing XI on Thursday morning, Rohit Sharma kept suspense as the India captain dodged every selection question thrown at him with utmost ease during the pre-match press conference.

pic.twitter.com/tfDmIfjldA

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 8, 2023

However, a picture of Rohit, Suryakumar and India coach Rahul Dravid from India’s training session on Wednesday created a hope among the fans as the No.1 T20I batter might get his maiden Test cap at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur.

In the picture, Rohit is seen addressing a point to SKY as Dravid looks on. “Tomorrow 9 o’ clock at toss,” Rohit said responding to a Gill-SKY question on Wednesday. “It’s going to be a tough one. We know lot of guys are in good form, that’s a good sign for the team,” he added.

While Suryakumar has established himself as world’s top-ranked batter in the shortest format of the game, the Mumbaikar has fair experience of playing red-ball cricket in the domestic circuit before he broke into the Indian team in 2021. His ability to tame a raging bull like Nathan Lyon will be crucial for India.

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— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) February 7, 2023

For Gill, the Punjab batter has been in the form of his life and consistent in white ball cricket for India, including a double century in ODIs against New Zealand last month.

The India vs Australia four-Test series in crucial as the outcome will decide who qualifies for the final of the World Test Championship to be played in June.