India Playing XI for 3rd Test in Border Gavaskar Trophy: As India seeks to secure a victory that will secure their place in the World Test Championship, Rohit Sharma and the team management face a crucial decision in finalizing the playing XI.
The Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid, is facing a tough decision when it comes to selecting their playing XI for the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Although they have won the first two matches convincingly and are just one win away from securing a World Test Championship berth, there are concerns over the performance of KL Rahul, who has recently been stripped of his vice-captaincy.
Rahul's form has been poor, failing to score more than 25 runs in his last ten Test games and averaging just 35 in his 47 Test matches. As a result, there is speculation that he may be dropped from the starting XI, with Shubman Gill being a possible replacement. Gill has been in excellent form, scoring centuries and double centuries in recent matches, but the team management is likely to retain Rahul for this game and give him one more chance to prove himself.
In addition to the dilemma over Rahul, there is also a question over whether to sacrifice pace for Axar Patel, who is expected to be retained in the starting XI. Despite the challenges, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will be hoping to lead India to victory and secure their place in the World Test Championship. Fans can follow the India vs Australia Live Updates on INSIDESPORT.IN.
KL Rahul’s recent performance in Test Cricket
|
MATCH |
Bat |
Date |
Ground |
Format |
|
India vs Australia |
17 & 1 |
17-Feb-2023 |
Delhi |
Test |
|
India vs Australia |
20 |
09-Feb-2023 |
Nagpur |
Test |
|
India vs Bangladesh |
10 & 2 |
22-Dec-2022 |
Mirpur |
Test |
|
India vs Bangladesh |
22 & 23 |
14-Dec-2022 |
Chattogram |
Test |
India's third Test playing XI is expected to include KL Rahul, despite his recent lack of runs, while young Shubman Gill continues to wait for his chance. Ishan Kishan is another potential option, but he is currently competing for the wicketkeeper position with KS Bharat. India is likely to retain Axar Patel in the team, sacrificing a pace option, as the pitch at the Indore stadium is expected to offer bounce. Although there is temptation to go with three pacers, the team management is likely to opt for two pacers and give Patel the opportunity to showcase his skills against Australia. The predicted playing XI includes Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj.