The Ajinkya Rahane-led Indians wiped the floor with the Australians in the second Test at Melbourne. Against all the odds, the Men in Blue emerged victorious against the Baggy Greens in their own background. Captain Ajinkya Rahane scored a blistering century in the first innings and carried his side gloriously, in the absence of Virat Kohli.
IND vs AUS: T Natarajan set to make his Test debut
The Indians will now face the Australians on January 7th, 2021 for the third Test at Sydney. As per reports, Ajinkya Rahane and coach Ravi Shastri are set to alter their playing XI again as pacer T Natarajan can make his Test debut in the process.
“The selectors had added Shardul Thakur (Mumbai paceman) as a replacement for Mohammed Shami (out with a fractured forearm), and there is Navdeep Saini too, but it’s very much likely that Natarajan would be preferred given that he brings variation to the attack. “Also, as Mitchell Starc does for Nathan Lyon, he would create footmarks which spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja can exploit,” a source was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
29-year-old T Natarajan replaced injured Navdeep Saini make his T20I debut against Australia. And now, it is rumored that the Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer is set to replace Umesh Yadav in the third Test at Sydney. Indian bowler Umesh Yadav picked up a calf injury in the second Test at Melbourne. However, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini are also in line to replace the injured Umesh Yadav in the third Test. Mohammed Siraj, who replaced injured Mohammed Shami in the second Test, has seemingly cemented his spot in the playing XI with his decent debut at Melbourne.
IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma and David Warner back in their respective squads
There are plenty of other changes also expected to be made on both sides. India’s season-campaigner Rohit Sharma is fit to feature in the starting XI. The “Hit-man” will seemingly replace out-of-form Mayank Agarwal. Australian opener David Warner has also recovered from his injury and is all-set to face the mighty Blue at Sydney from January 7, 2020. The fans are up for a mega-treat as two heavyweights of cricket will go head-to-head against each other on their quest to clinch the auspicious “Border Gavaskar” trophy.
