New Delhi: Sunil Gavaskar believes India will make changes in their batting order to incorporate skipper Rohit Sharma in their playing XI for the second Test against Australia that begins in Adelaide in December 6.
Rohit sat out the first Test for paternity leave, becoming dad for the second time. Kl Rahul opened in his place as India won the game by 295 runs in Perth to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.
The second game is a day-night affair where Rohit is expected to join Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order while Shubman Gill is also tipped to be included after being out of the Perth game with a thumb injury.
Gill picked up the injury during India’s intra-squad practice match at the WACA Ground as Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel were named in the India tea, for the series opener.
“I think there will be two changes for sure, both Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill coming back into the 11. My feeling is that the batting order will change. Where Rohit Sharma will replace Rahul, Shubman Gill will bat at three, Padikkal and Jurel will go out of the team, Rahul will bat at six,” Gavaskar told 7Cricket.
Jadeja for Sundar?
The former skipper also said India could also replace all-rounder Washington Sundar with veteran Ravindra Jadeja as Rahul would come down the order to accommodate Rohit.
“And one other change that could happen is that Jadeja comes in place of Washington Sundar,” he added.
Hosts Australia are under pressure after going down in the opener and they will be without pacer Josh Hazlewood, who has been sidelined with a side strain.
Gavaskar’s predicted Indian playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
The second Test is a day-night affair where Rohit Sharma is expected to join Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order while Shubman Gill is also tipped to be included after being out of the Perth game with a thumb injury. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
