AUS vs IND 2024-25: Why are Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar not playing second Test?

India have made three changes to the squad that defeated Australia by 295 runs in the first Test in Perth. Captain Rohit Sharma missed the opening game of the series due to the birth of his son. He joined on Day 3 of the Perth Test and since then has taken part in all the practice sessions and interestingly, the 37-year-old confirmed that he will be batting in the middle order in Adelaide after KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal did a commendable job in the first Test.

Rohit is likely to bat at number six. He has batted at six in 25 innings and scored 1037 runs at an average of 54.57. The captain can express himself down the order and, alongside Rishabh Pant, can form a deadly pair. Apart from Rohit, Shubman Gill has also been announced in the playing XI. He missed the opening game due to a finger injury but has recovered and also featured in the warm-up game against Prime Minister XI, in which, he scored an unbeaten half-century.

Gill replaced Devdutt Padikkal in the playing XI. He has been a force to reckon with in number three and has experience of playing in Down Under, having played three games in the 2020-21 season and scored 259 runs at an average of 51.80. India also brought back Ravichandran Ashwin into the playing XI. He missed the Perth Test as the visitors wanted to try Washington Sundar, who was in brilliant form, leading to his selection.

India, in the meantime, have won the toss and elected to bat first. Rohit mentioned that the surface will get better later on, and that led to the decision of the visitors batting first. Australia, on the other hand, made one change as injured Josh Hazlewood missed out, and Scott Boland replaced him.

“It looks a good pitch. It obviously looks a little dry at the moment, but there's enough grass covering as well. I guess it will have some carry for the fast bowlers, but as the game goes on it will get better to bat and there will be something in it for everyone. We've made three changes. I'm back, Gill is back and Ashwin is back in place of Washy, Padikkal and Jurel. I'm batting in the middle order, which is different, but I'm ready for the challenge,” Rohit said after the toss.

"[You would have batted first?] Yeah, that's right. But Day 1, pink ball. There might be a bit of nip there for us. It's good to have a fresh start. It's a venue we really love playing at. Pink ball can be a little bit different than red ball. Everyone can look back at success they've had in past games. We weren't at our best last week but we're itching to get out there. One change, Josh Hazlewood misses this week and Scott Boland comes in," said Australia captain Pat Cummins at the toss.

Playing XIs

Australia - Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India - KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma (c), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj