India vs Australia Test Series 2018-19 series will begin from tomorrow and 1st Test match will be played in Adelaide Oval (Adelaide). Australia has announced its Playing XI for this test while Team India has declared the names of 12 players (India XII). Australia’s team is the one which was being speculated. While there is a surprising element in Team India that Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the best swing bowler of the country, is not in the playing XII declared by BCCI.
Will Rohit Sharma get place in playing XI?
It is very unlikely that Team Management will give Rohit Sharma place in Playing XI at Adelaide Test. The reason for this is that Team India has 4 specialist bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma). And the plus point for the Hanuma Vihari is that he can ball and could come handy whenever required during the match. If needed, Hanuma Vihari is the best bowling option. But Rohit Sharma is more experienced so it will be really difficult decision for skipper Virat Kohli and the coach whom to play in playing XI.
Rohit Sharma Test Stats
| M | Inn | HS | Avg | 100 | 50 | |
| Test | 25 | 43 | 177 | 39.97 | 3 | 9 |
Why Bhuvneshwar Kumar Not Included?
Bhuvneshwar is a bowler who can swing the new ball, but he does not have the art of reverse swing as other India bowlers likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bhamrah Mohammed Shami or Jasprit Bumrah. Bowlers with speed here are most successful, who use their shoulder more. Moreover, pitch at Adelaide is bouncier. Obviously, Shami, Ishant and Bumrah have this reputation.
Other fact could be that the Kookaburra ball will be used in this series. As per experts, after the initial 6 or 7 over, the ball loses its shine, the reason of which ball not swings much. In this condition, reverse swing and speed are needed. Bhuvneshwar is the best bowler with new ball but, here he is probably not as successful, so Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri did not give him place in 12.
IND vs AUS, 1st Test Squads
India XII: Virat Kohli (C), A Rahane (VC), KL Rahul, M Vijay, C Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, R Pant (WK), R Ashwin, M Shami, I Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia XI: Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
IND vs AUS, Test Series Schedule
| Date | Teams | Venue | Time |
| 06-10 Dec 2018 |
AUS vs IND |
1st Test at Adelaide | 05:30 AM IST |
| 14-18 Dec 2018 |
AUS vs IND |
2nd Test at Perth | 7:50 AM IST |
| 26-30 Dec 2018 |
AUS vs IND |
3rd Test at Melbourne | 05: 00 AM IST |
| 03-07 Jan 2019 |
AUS vs IND |
4th Test at Sydney | 05: 00 AM IST |
When, Where and what time will the India vs Australia fixture take place?
The first Test between India and Australia will take place between 6-10 December, 2018 at Adelaide Oval and begin at 5:30 IST
In Which TV channels to watch the India-Australia Test Series?
The match will be telecast on Sony Sports Network
Where to watch the match online?
The match will be live streamed on sonyliv.com.
