Rohit returns to new position, India spin duo tipped for 'big role'

The opening partnership stitched together by India at the eleventh hour ahead of the first Test will remain in place as captain Rohit Sharma revealed he will return to the middle order for tomorrow's day-night match against Australia.

Rohit also opened the selection door for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as India stood on the brink of a generational change. If neither plays in Adelaide, it will be the first time ever in the duo's careers that both have been overlooked in consecutive Tests.

Shubman Gill is a likely starter for the visitors at No. 3 after missing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener due to a thumb injury.

Rohit was also absent from Perth due to the birth of his second child, a son named Ahaan, who the 37-year-old said was cradled in his arms as he watched his replacement, KL Rahul, post a record 201 runs. stand by Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The Indian skipper, who arrived in Australia before the first Test concluded, suggested the opening partnership in the second innings was the biggest factor in their 295-run victory and is now loath to break it.

It means the right-hander will reject the order for the first time in six years.

“(Rahul) will open the batting. I will be somewhere in the middle,” Rohit told reporters on Thursday.

“Those two guys at the top, just watching this one Test match (in Perth), batted brilliantly.

“I was at home with my newborn baby in my arms and I was watching KL bat and it was brilliant, to be honest. I felt there was no need to change that now.

“Maybe things will be different in the future, I don't know. Based on what happened and what KL has shown outside India, he probably deserves that spot at this point.

“It's something that gave us success in the first Test because of that partnership with Jaiswal. It probably got us the Test match. When you come here to a place like Perth and you get (almost) 500 runs (in the second innings 6 -487d), it's a huge tick in the box.

“I don't see the need to change that. It was actually quite simple for me personally, not easy, but for the team it made a lot of sense.”

Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel, who batted at three and six respectively in Perth, are the likely omissions if Gill were to join Rohit to take his place back in the side.

There could be further change, with Rohit implying that Washington Sundar was included over Ashwin and Jadeja for the first Test. It was a circumstance-based decision rather than a sign that the 25-year-old is now at the top of the pecking order of the legendary spin pair who have more than 800 Test wickets between them.

Washington made his debut when both Ashwin and Jadeja were injured during India's famous Gabba Test win in 2021. But the injury and that duo's dominance, especially on home soil, left Perth with only its seventh Test in almost four years was.

The fact that the all-rounder averages almost 50 with the bat (48.37) and under 25 with the ball (23.91) in Tests underlines what a promising player he is.

But Rohit's persistence Jadeja (who turns 36 on day one of the Adelaide Test) and Ashwin (38) are yet to play a major role in this series, putting Washington's spot in jeopardy.

Perth marked only the sixth time since Ashwin's debut in November 2011 (13 months before Jadeja made his Test bow) that India have left both out of their XI, a span of 130 Tests. During that period, they have never left either out for consecutive games.

“Unfortunately, I was not there to deliver this news to them,” Rohit said when asked about the omissions of the prolific wicket-taking pair who were co-stars in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in India last year.

“It's always difficult to leave experienced players like Jadeja and Ashwin (out). The decision that was made was the best for the team at the time and whatever the management felt was the right thing to do, that's what we did .” .

“But I definitely see them playing a big role in the rest of the series.

“What they bring to the table will never be written off. They are quality players and the success that Indian cricket has had in recent years is also largely due to these two guys.

“We will never count their achievements for the team and what they have done for the team.

“It's important for us to realize that certain areas will involve certain players a lot more. We try to make decisions based on what we see in front of us.”

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series vs India

First test: India won by 295 runs

Second test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (D/N)

Third test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11:20am AEDT

Fourth test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT

Fifth test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT

Australian team (for second test): Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney , Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

Indian selection: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep , Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal