India are on a roll in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The visitors won the series opener by 295 runs and are looking strong for the remaining four Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia only had the upper hand on Day 1 when they dismissed India for 150, but the situation changed completely after that.
Jasprit Bumrah-led bowling unit restricted the Aussies to 104 runs, and then the batters posted 487/6 declare. Chasing a target of 534 runs to win, the home team was bowled out for 235 runs on Day 4.
Captain Rohit Sharma returned for the second Test after missing the Perth Test due to the birth of his second child. He will lead the side in the Pink-Ball Test in Adelaide.
Shubman Gill, another absentee from the recently concluded contest, will also make it to the Playing XI. Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel are likely to be benched for the second game.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri wants to see another change to the Playing XI, as the conditions in a day-night Test would favour the fast bowlers. He mentioned that if Mohammed Shami is fit and raring to go, he could be drafted into the playing group.
“I am not in favour of many changes, but if I look at the conditions in Adelaide and how the ball would behave under lights, Mohammed Shami could be a good option. If he is hundred percent fit and raring to go, the management should think about adding him to the XI,” he said.
Shastri didn’t give the name of the fast bowler who should be benched to bring back Shami. Jasprit Bumrah (8 wickets), Mohammed Siraj (5 wickets) and debutant Harshit Rana (4 wickets) were brilliant with the ball in Perth.
Also, Shami is not part of the squad and is still in India. Although he proved his fitness in the Ranji Trophy match between Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, the selectors haven’t shown any urgency in sending him to Australia. He took seven wickets for Bengal in his first game after almost a year.
The veteran was out of action due to ankle surgery and a long rehabilitation process.