India vs Australia 2024 Test Series Strongest Possible Playing 11

Dhruv Jurel, a strong contender in our strongest possible playing 11 for India vs Australia 2024 Border Gavaskar Test series. 

In just a week’s time, we are going to witness a battle that has been a completely one-sided affair in the last two series. Yes, we are talking about the Border Gavaskar Trophy where Team India have emerged victorious in the last two series – 2020 and 2022. It was under Virat Kohli’s captaincy did Team India achieved a historic feat by defeating Aussies for the first time ever in 2020. The feat was repeated by Team India under Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy in 2022.

But can Team India for one more time continue the record, and make it a hat-trick of series wins? Well, the current WTC 2023-25 Standings for Team India stands on a cliff. A series victory (3-2 or 4-1) will keep India afloat in the competition. However, a series loss could open a lot of permutations and combinations, and many teams will then be open for the second slot for the WTC final.

But things won’t be easy for Team India in Australia. The current confidence of the team is at rock bottom having suffered their worst Test series defeat ever after New Zealand whitewashed them in their own den. Never had one imagined New Zealand winning a Test series in India, and that too 3-0. While the current team has issues playing spin bowling, it won’t be easy on Australia’s bouncy and swingy wickets either. India will have to play A+ level cricket to have a successful chance of defeating Australia. 

India vs Australia 2024 Full Test Squad and Players List:  

Batters: Abhimanyu Easwaran, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli & Yashasvi Jaiswal

Wicket-keepers: Dhruv Jurel (wk) & Rishabh Pant (wk)

All-rounders: Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin & Washington Sundar

Bowlers: Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mohammed Siraj & Prasidh Krishna

Travelling Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini & Khaleel Ahmed

While batting is definitely a problem for Team India, the bowing unit isn’t strong either. Barring Bumrah, India’s other two first-choice pacers, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep aren’t doing good either. While Akash is relatively new, Siraj is in the worst form of his life. India are also without Mohammed Shami, who is still recovering from an injury. Nevertheless, with the squad in front of us, let’s look at the India vs Australia 2024 Test series strongest playing 11. 

India vs Australia 2024 Test Series Playing 11 Analyzed:

If we start with the batting lineup, there shouldn’t be any change in the top 5 batters from the one that played against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal should continue to open the batting with Shubman Gill at 3, Virat Kohli at 4, and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant at 5. Importantly, if Rohit Sharma isn’t available for the first Test, and then his absence, we should see KL Rahul opening the batting for Team India. 

While the top 5 in the batting lineup seem consistent, the bottom 6 should see some change. Given Sarfaraz Khan’s success in the recent Test series, it won’t be wise to drop him from the playing 11 without even giving him a chance in Australia. So, expect Team India to give Sarfaraz Khan a chance in a couple of matches at the least, and let him continue to play at the number 6 position. Sarfaraz Khan will also be in focus in the upcoming IPL 2025 Mega Auction. 

Meanwhile, for number 7, India will either go with a seam-bowling all-rounder like Nitish Reddy, or a pure batter like Dhruv Jurel. If we observe India’s performance recently, more than the bowling, it is the batting that has been a big issue for the team. Nitish, if experienced would have been an asset. Whereas Dhruv Jurel has already proved his mettle in Australia, and thus India can afford to go ahead with only three pacers, but can’t afford to weaken the tail by playing only 6 batters.  

Jadeja vs Sundar

Finally, for the bowling lineup, India will have a strong chance if they go ahead with Ravindra Jadeja + 3 pacers. It will be unfortunate, but both Sundar and Ashwin will have to sit for the Perth and Adelaide Tests at least. Jadeja is irreplaceable in the team as he adds in all three departments. Also, the team will have to play three pacers as well given the seam-friendly pitches. So, among the pacers, India will mostly go ahead with Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.  

While this playing 11 seems the strongest option for Team India, the team can also take an alternative route by playing 4 pacers and one spinner Ravindra Jadeja at number 7. As we know Harshit Rana can be a decent batter, and Harshit batting at the number 8 position won’t be a bad option, if at all India decide to go ahead with him. If Harshit plays, India will have to leave out one from Sarfaraz or Dhruv. While leaving Sarfaraz would be difficult, Dhruv for now, brings more to the table with his batting. 

India vs Australia 2024 Strongest Playing 11 for Test Series:  

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj

Ind vs Aus Test Series 2024 Test Series Schedule

• 1st Test, Nov 22-26 @ Perth
• 2nd Test, Dec 6-10 @ Adelaide
• 3rd Test, Dec 14-18 @ The Gabba
• 4th Test, Dec 26-30 @ Melbourne
• 5th Test, Jan 03-07 @ Sydney

So, that’s about the strongest playing 11 for Team India vs Australia 2024 Test series. Meanwhile, Australia have already announced their playing 11 for the Perth Test. The team will see Nathan McSweeney and Usman Khawaja as openers, Marnus Labuscagne at 3, Steve Smith at 4, Travis Head at 5, Mitchell Marsh at 6, Alex Carey at 7, Pat Cummins at 8, Mitchell Starc at 9, Nathan Lyon at 10, and Josh Hazlewood at number 11. 

Thanks for reading! What’s your playing 11 for the India vs Australia 2024 Test series? Please email your comments to business@cricalytics.com

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