India's playing XI from last home Test against Australia - Where are they now?
India will host Australia for a four-match Test series, starting February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. The other three games of the series will take place in Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad.
The hosts need to win the series by a decent margin to ensure a place in the ICC World Test Championship final. Australia have almost booked their spot in the WTC Final, but they need to avoid losing the series by a 4-0 scoreline.
The last time Australia visited India for a Test series was in 2017, which Infia win 3-1. The last game of that series was at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, where the hosts won by eight wickets. Neither Rohit Sharma nor Virat Kohli was a part of the Indian playing XI in that game.
In this article, we will look at the Indian playing XI from the Dharamsala 2017 Test match against Australia, and where the 11 players are now.
Openers - KL Rahul and Murali Vijay
KL Rahul opened the batting with Murali Vijay in that match. Rahul scored a fifty in both innings, playing an integral role in India's victory. Vijay did not have a great outing in Dharamsala. He returned with scores of 11 & 8 in the two innings.
Rahul is currently the vice-captain of Team India in the Test format, while Vijay announced his retirement recently.
Middle Order - Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Karun Nair and Wriddhiman Saha (wk)
Ajinkya Rahane captained India in that game against Australia, as Virat Kohli was injured. Rahane scored 46 & 38* in that game. Cheteshwar Pujara supported him well with a 151-ball 57 in the first innings, while Karun Nair and Wriddhiman Saha could not score big.
Rahane, Nair and Saha have lost their places in the Indian Test squad now, while Pujara is still the No. 3 batter of India in Tests.
All Rounders - Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravindra Jadeja starred in India's win at the HPCA Stadium by scoring 63 runs in the first innings. Jadeja bowled a spell of 1-57 in the first innings and scalped three wickets in the second innings. Ravichandran Ashwin supported him by picking up four wickets in two innings.
Both Jadeja and Ashwin are a part of the Indian Test squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.
Bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav
Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the Indian pace attack with Umesh Yadav in that Test. The two Indian pacers scalped a total of seven wickets in two innings. Kuldeep Yadav made his Test debut against Australia in Dharamsala. The left-arm wrist-spinner surprised the Aussies with a four-wicket haul in his maiden Test innings.
Umesh and Kuldeep will play for India in the upcoming series against the Aussies. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not played a Test for India since 2018. The veteran pacer has focused on white ball cricket of late.