India vs Australia: Virat Kohli, Tim Paine Announce Their Teams For Adelaide Test

Team India have decided to wait until the start of the first Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday to announce their playing XI. The tourists announced a 12-man squad in the wake of skipper Virat Kohli addressing the media in Adelaide, with Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma set to compete for the one spot. Vihari, a batting all-rounder, made his Test debut in The Oval Test this year, making a first-innings 56 and taking 3/37 with the ball. Rohit played the last of his 25 Tests against South Africa in January this year but has toured Australia before, averaging 28.83 in six innings with one half-century in 2014-15.  

India have never won a Test series on Australian soil and enter the series as the No.1 Test team in the world.

Australia sprang a surprise by axing all-rounder Mitch Marsh on Wednesday for the first Test against India, as Usman Khawaja's return was confirmed despite the shock of his brother's arrest.

Batsmen Travis Head and Peter Handscomb were preferred to Marsh, piling more pressure on the bowlers, while Marcus Harris will make his debut as opener.

Captain Tim Paine said Marsh's omission was due to a lack of consistency and he would benefit from returning to Sheffield Shield cricket to find form again. 

Handscomb edged him out after two half-centuries last week and a century for Victoria the week before that.

"Mitch Marsh has not been as consistent as he would like and we would like," said Paine at his pre-match press conference.

"We know the talent that Mitch has and we know that most likely at some stage in this series we will need him. 

"We are taking the opportunity at the moment to go back and play a Shield game and get some cricket under belt."

Debutant Harris will open alongside Aaron Finch, with Khawaja, whose brother was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly framing a colleague with a fake terror plot, coming in at first drop.

Khawaja, who is returning after ankle surgery, was not seen in the nets on Wednesday after his family crisis, although he is known to only take on a light workload the day before a Test.

Shaun Marsh will bat at four with Handscomb at five and Head at six.

The dumping of Mitch Marsh will add an extra burden for Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon, who will have to take on more overs in what are forecast to be scorching hot conditions in Adelaide.

"We obviously have a lot of confidence in Nathan Lyon bowling a lot of overs if we need to," said Paine. 

"And probably the fact that all our three quicks go in real fresh. We have confidence in them, particularly at the start of the series."

India's 12-man squad:

Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravi Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah

Australia's playing XI:

Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Tim Paine (capt), Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc

(With AFP inputs)

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