Todd Murphy will make a dream Test debut in India but Australia have sprung an even bigger surprise by dropping Travis Head for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener in Nagpur. Pat Cummins won a crucial toss and the visitors will bat first after Murphy was revealed as the 465th men’s Test player, with Nathan Lyon presenting the 22-year-old with his Baggy Green before play to see the Aussies pick dual off-spinners for the first time in 35 years.
Murphy is the first Australian Test debutant in India since Glenn Maxwell got his cap in Hyderabad a decade ago. But it was soon shown to be just one of two brave selection calls as Travis Head, who has averaged more than 50 in Test cricket since the start of the 2021-22 Ashes, was dumped as Peter Handscomb and Matthew Renshaw were preferred to bat in the middle order.
Australia XI:
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Scott Boland got the nod to partner Pat Cummins as the side’s two pace bowlers with Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood both sidelined by injury, with Murphy edging out Ashton Agar as Nathan Lyon’s spin sidekick.
Head’s sketchy record abroad – he averages 21.69 with the bat in overseas Tests and 21.30 in Asia – emboldened selectors to drop the left-hander who has been a revelation at No.5 over the past two home summers.
His much-improved off-breaks, which have netted him seven wickets at 13 since the beginning of last year’s Sri Lanka tour, would likely not have been required with both Murphy and Nathan Lyon in the side.
Handscomb, on the other hand, is considered a strong player of spin and also regarded as one of the country’s best catchers, both in the slips and as a bat-pad fielder. Renshaw has also been practicing close-in catching extensively in the lead-in to this match.
Also in Handscomb’s favour is his right-handedness given there are concerns in the Australian camp about the VCA Stadium pitch possibly proving more treacherous for left-handers.
Had Head and Renshaw both played, the tourists would have had five lefties in their top seven. Cummins was inspecting either side of the pitch on Thursday morning after concerns arose that different treatment had been given to the good length outside the right- and left-hander’s off-stumps.
India, meanwhile, have handed debuts to dynamo Suryakumar Yadav, the 32-year-old late bloomer who has become one of the world’s best T20 batters, and KS Bharat, who will take the gloves in the absence of injured keeper Rishabh Pant.
The hosts have picked three spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel – but resisted the temptation to field a fourth in wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Pacemen Mohammad Siraj and and Mohammad Shami got the nod instead. Shreyas Iyer has a back injury and the in-form Shubman Gill was overlooked.