Suryakumar Yadav might very well don the Indian Test jersey for the first time when Rohit Sharma and co take on Australia in the 1st Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur. Shreyas Iyer’s back injury has ruled him out of the Indian squad for this Test, opening the possibility of the Indian team replacing him with either Shubman Gill or Suryakumar Yadav. Gill has a solid case to have a spot in the Indian playing XI, given the rich vein of form the youngster is in. He has been on a run-scoring spree, recently slamming a double hundred in ODIs and a maiden T20 international century as well. To top it off, the young right-hander also did well in India’s last Test assignment in Bangladesh, where he scored his first hundred in the longest format. IND vs AUS 1st Test 2023 Preview: Likely Playing XIs, Key Battles, Head to Head and Other Things You Need To Know About India vs Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy Cricket Match in Nagpur.

Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, can be picked in the playing XI for counterattacking the opposition. More commonly known as SKY, he has been one of the world’s best performers in the shortest version of the game, even rising to the number one spot and being named ICC Men’s T20I Player of Year 2022. However, he is yet to translate that success into ODIs. SKY can be Team India's X-factor in Rishabh Pant's absence. The pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium is said to be on the drier side and should there be a low-scoring contest, Suryakumar Yadav’s ability to clear the fence at will and hit to all parts of the ground will come in handy for India. IND vs AUS Dream11 Team Prediction, 1st Test 2023: Tips To Pick Best Fantasy Playing XI for India vs Australia BGT Cricket Match in Nagpur.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has revealed that he has not decided who among the two will play the Nagpur Test. A situation might arise that Gill makes it to the playing XI as an opener and KL Rahul is demoted to number five. Should that happen, Suryakumar Yadav will have to wait for his debut in the longest format. Also, India might play both Gill and Suryakumar and, in that case, will have to leave out KL Rahul, which is a very unlikely scenario, given the fact that he is also the vice-captain of the team. Rohit, in all likelihood will open with Rahul and one out of Gill and Suryakumar will fight for the number five spot. India also might fit all three in the XI if Rahul keeps wickets and in that case, KS Bharat will miss out.

India is also highly likely to play three spinners on this pitch, with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and one out of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel making the cut. Kuldeep has an advantage, given the fact that he has more variations, while Axar can come in handy with the bat if needed. It remains to be seen how the spin combination looks, with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj likely to form a two-man pace attack.

India Likely XI for First Test vs Australia

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill/Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2023 05:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).