Suryakumar Yadav makes his Test debut, while KS Bharat is also given the Indian cap ahead of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy match between India and Australia on Thursday in Nagpur. Suryakumar has had a fantastic run of form in limited overs cricket over the last year, earning him the title of ODI Player of the Year 2022. Bharat also joined the team in place of the injured Rishabh Pant, who is expected to be out for some time after being involved in a car accident. In a video posted by the BCCI on their official Twitter account, Ravi Shastri handed Suryakumar the India cap, while senior batsman Cheteshwar Pujara handed KS Bharat the India cap ahead of his debut.
Pat Cummins, Australia's captain, won the toss and chose to bat first.
At the toss, Australian captain Pat Cummins said, "We'll take the field. It appears to be a fairly even wicket towards the middle. 2017 was a big year for the series. I can't wait to get started on this. We've done a good job of preparing. We believe we are in an excellent position. Todd Murphy makes two substitutions. Travis Head is replaced by Handscomb."
During the toss, Indian captain Rohit Sharma stated, "We would have batted as well. It appears to be quite dry. Spinners will receive assistance. We'll have to wait and see how far it goes. When we first started training, we noticed some seam movement for the pacers up front. We have been well prepared for the last 5-6 days. We received training on the aspects of the store. This is significant. We understand the significance of the series, but we also understand that winning one session at a time is essential. It's a lengthy series. Three spinners and two seamers, Bharat and Suryakumar Yadav, are making their debuts."
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland
India (Playing XI):Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.