AUS vs IND 2024-25: Why are Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshit Rana not playing 3rd Test?

In addition, the playing XI no longer includes Ravichandran Ashwin. Due to the visitors’ preference for Washington Sundar, particularly following his performance in the series against New Zealand, the top spinner was rested in the first Test match in Perth.

Ashwin, who took Sundar’s position in the second game, didn’t do much with the Pink Ball, though.

As a result, the team management decided to reinstate Ravindra Jadeja in the Gabba Test setup.

After losing the second Test match in Adelaide to Australia, India made two tactical adjustments to their starting lineup. Despite his outstanding performance in the first Test match in Perth, Harshit Rana did not live up to the hype in the second match in Adelaide. Given that he gave up 86 runs in 16 overs during the Adelaide Test’s opening innings, the team’s management made the decision to give the young player a break and reinstate Akash Deep in the starting lineup.

In the series’ first three Test matches, India will use three different spinners. Lack of consistency is something that the team management should take into account, particularly while touring for a high-pressure series.

Rohit Sharma, the skipper, chose to bowl first at Gabba after winning the toss. He was encouraged to make the choice by the fact that there is some grass on the deck and that the weather is cloudy. The 37-year-old also emphasised that they are hoping to recover from a loss in Adelaide, but the series has been competitive thus far.

“We’ll start by going bowling. A little bit of grass and a little bit of cloud cover make it appear a little softer, so we want to take advantage of the situation. There is still enough of cricket to be played, as both sides have performed admirably in the last two encounters. We will fulfil our obligations; this is a big game for us. We know we need to capture some moments, which is why we lost the last game, but we’ll play good cricket,” Rohit stated during the toss.

In contrast, Australia changed one member of their playing XI. In place of Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood missed the second Test due to a side injury.

Playing XI of Australia and India:

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.