Team India gave debut caps to all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and pacer Harshit Rana for the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Test series in Perth on Friday, November 22. Both players, included in the playing XI for the first Test, are set to make their Test debut.
Nitish and Harshit were presented with their India Test caps by senior players Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, respectively. You can see it here:
Nitish Kumar Reddy received his Test Cap from Virat Kohli❤️#ViratKohli | #AUSvsIND pic.twitter.com/TaL6y9OygR
— 𝙒𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙣🥂 (@wrognxvirat) November 22, 2024
Congratulations to Harshit Rana on making his Team India debut, he received his cap from R. Ashwin 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/4i6eSleiUB
— KKR Karavan (@KkrKaravan) November 22, 2024
Meanwhile, India’s stand-in captain, Jasprit Bumrah, won the toss and opted to bat first in the Perth Test. To secure a spot in the World Test Championship 2023-25 final without depending on other results, India must win the five-match series 4-0.
Here are the playing XIs for the BGT 2024-25 series opener:
India XI for Perth Test: Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Virat Kohli, Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj
Australia XI for Perth Test: Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Travis Head, Pat Cummins(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
“We Have Confidence In Him” – Jasprit Bumrah On Nitish Kumar Reddy
Team India’s stand-in captain praised Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of the Test series opener against Australia. The star pacer highlighted that the team management has strong confidence in Reddy. Bumrah stated at the pre-match press conference (via TOI):
“Nitish Kumar Reddy is quite talented and we are positive about him. You have seen in IPL also, he believes in his game.”
He also commended the team’s young players, noting that they possess a solid mindset, and added:
“The best thing about youngsters in our team is that when you talk to them, no one looks confused, overawed.”
Meanwhile, India has had the upper hand over Australia in Test cricket recently, winning the last four editions of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They also have the opportunity to complete a hat-trick of Test series wins on Australian soil.
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