Australia vs India: Tim Paine named in 'A' squad
Test skipper Tim Paine has been named in Australia A's squad for the impending practice match against India A, starting December 6. The 13-member squad will be led by all-rounder Travis Head, while Test regulars Joe Burns and James Pattinson are also a part of it. Notably, the four-day practice game will begin on the sidelines of second T20I between Australia and India.
Australia last played Test cricket in January 2020, when they routed NZ 3-0 at home. The upcoming practice games will offer their marquee players some match practice. The management will also aim to derive the perfect XI for the Test series. Similarly, the Indians, who will be sans Virat Kohli in the final three Tests, will get a taste of Test cricket Down Under.
Australia A's 13-member squad: Joe Burns, Will Pucovski, Marcus Harris, Travis Head (C), Cameron Green, Nic Maddinson, Tim Paine (WK), Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Mark Steketee, Harry Conway, Will Sutherland.
India's Test squad: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj.
The first practice game will commence on December 6 at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney. Notably, the day's play will start at 5:00 AM IST. After this completion of T20I series, the Sydney Cricket Ground will host the second warm-up game from December 11 onwards. The match will be played with the pink-ball, as a build-up to the Day/Night Test in Adelaide.
The opening Test of the historic Border-Gavaskar series will begin in Adelaide on December 17. This will be India's first-ever pink-ball Test overseas. Meanwhile, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is set to host the traditional Boxing Day Test from December 26-30. Besides, the Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7-11) and The Gabba (January 15-19) will play host to the next two Tests.
