NEW DELHI: Young Indian batter Shubman Gill on Wednesday replaced the out-of-form India opener KL Rahul in the playing XI for the third Test of the four-match series against Australia. Hosts India also rested pacer Mohammed Shami, replacing him with Umesh Yadav.
Gill has of late been in red hot form in the limited overs formats. This is also the first Test match Gill is playing this year. His last Test before this was vs Bangladesh in December 2022.
"We have made two changes - Gill comes in place of KL. We have rested Shami and Umesh comes in," India skipper Rohit Sharma said after winning the toss at the Holkar stadium. India opted to bat first in Indore.
Gill's comeback did not last long as he edged one to Steve Smith at slip off Matthew Kuhnemann in the 8th over. Gill scored 21 off 18 balls, hitting three boundaries in his short stay in the middle. Kuhnemann also took the prize wicket of India skipper Rohit, who was out stumped for 12 in the sixth over.
KL Rahul dropped from India XI. What does it mean? Watch an explainer video here:
Rahul was getting a lot of flak after failing to take advantage of the prolonged chances given to him in the Indian Test side. And with Gill knocking hard on the selection doors for the opening slot, the change was almost inevitable.
Rahul has a highest score of 23 in his last 10 Test innings at a lowly average of 12.5 in the said period.
There was a school of thought that the team management which has continued to back Rahul openly would give him a longer rope, especially because India are in a good position in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having already retained the trophy after winning the first two Tests. However, the axe has fallen on Rahul.
"We will have a bat first. It is a pretty good dressing room and like you said the morale is high. The guys are confident about their skills which is a good thing moving forward.
"We have played a lot of cricket (here) but this one (surface) is slightly different. Looks a little dry and you have to adapt your skills and be at it all the time. We are not still there yet (WTC final) and we have to come and win this game, we have to try and repeat the things we did in the first two Tests. It is important to stay present," Rohit said after the toss.
Led by stand-in captain Steve Smith, Australia also made two changes to the side that lost the second Test by six wickets in New Delhi, bringing in pace-bowling stalwart Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Cameron Green in place of Pat Cummins and David Warner, who have returned home for personal reasons and an injury respectively.
"Looks pretty dry and no surprises Rohit decided to bat first. Hopefully we can execute our skills early and put the Indian batters under pressure. It (break) came at a good time for us, obviously disappointing how we ended the last Test match and the guys have had time to reflect, rest and get back into preparation.
"Just stick to our methods for longer periods, we went away from it especially in the second innings in the last game. We are thinking about Patty, his mum's unwell and he has had to go home. We have two changes, Mitch Starc comes in and Cameron Green comes in for Davey (Warner)," Smith said at the toss.
India have already taken a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia haven't managed to beat India in a bilateral Test series since the 2014-15 series when India toured Australia. Since then India have won three back to back series against the Aussies and are looking good to win their fourth on the trot this time.
