Picking a combined India-Australia playing 11 for 1st Test of BGT 2024-25 ft. Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins
The Perth Stadium hosted its first-ever Test in 2018, between India and Australia. It turned out to be a brilliant game where Virat Kohli scored one of his best overseas Test centuries, 123 (257), and Mohammed Shami took a six-fer but India still lost by a massive margin of 146 runs.
However, it was also the only Test Australia won in that series, which India went on to clinch 2-1. Australia has since played three more Tests here and won all -- perhaps a big reason why they have chosen it to kickstart the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy on November 22.
With India and Kohli coming with question marks and Australia not being at their best at home for the past few years, nothing much separates the two teams. Below, we have tried to do a unique analysis, by picking a hypothetical combined 11 of the two teams. If viewed closely, it'll show you the strong and weak areas of both sides. Check it out:
Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Usman Khawaja
Two left-handers will open the innings for this 11 -- Australia's Usman Khawaja and India's Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma would have been in consideration but he's likely to miss the first Test due to personal reasons. On the other side, Khawaja would be partnered by 25-year-old Nathan McSweeney who will make his Test debut in the game.
In a way, Khawaja should be one of Jaiswal's idols in Australia. The former was a white-ball smasher before making it big in Test cricket and now has scored over 2800 runs in Australia, including nine centuries and 13 half-centuries, at a brilliant average of 52.87.
Jaiswal, one of the most promising batters in world cricket, averages 56 in Tests but is yet to play in Australia. Although he perfected his art on the bouncy tracks of Mumbai, Perth, and by extension, Australia, would be a big test of his caliber.
Middle-order: Steven Smith, Virat Kohli, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head
You can't have an India-Australia combined Test 11 without Kohli and Steven Smith. Although both have been far from their best forms in the format, they have done enough over the years to be feared and respected by the opposition in Perth.
Kohli would want to take inspiration from his average of 54 and his 2018-19 series century in Perth while Smith should enjoy a return to his preferred number four batting spot, where he averages over 61. For this 11, though, we have kept Smith at number three, due to his proficiency against the new ball, and Kohli at his usual number four.
The other options were Shubman Gill and Marnus Labuschagne, who were also seen as Kohli and Smith's heirs, but the jury is still out on them about their consistency in Tests.
This team's spine is two big-hitting Aussies -- Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head. They are one of the hosts' biggest strengths, thanks to their abilities to withstand pressure and counter-attacking the best bowlers against the momentum.
The right-hand, left-hand duo averages 41.39 and 50.58, respectively, in Australia, and India's relatively shaky options -- the internationally inexperienced Sarfaraz Khan and an out-of-form KL Rahul -- don't stand a chance in front of them currently.
Wicket-keeper: Rishabh Pant
It was a tough choice between two in-form 'keeper-bats, Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant.
Carey has been one of Australia's best red-ball players this year, scoring two centuries and two fifties in six domestic matches for South Australia recently. However, he's up against arguably India's greatest Test wicketkeeper, who has six Test centuries (six times Carey's) and seven 90s too.
India would underestimate Carey at their own peril. But, Pant has been here and done it, helping draw Sydney and win Gabba on India's last tour, and would be the superstar that Australia would be wary of the most.
Bowlers: Pat Cummins (C), Josh Hazlewood, Jasprit Bumrah and Nathan Lyon
The bowling attack is Australia's tried and tested quartet minus Mitchell Starc plus Jasprit Bumrah. World Test Championship winner Cummins will also captain the side and India's likely skipper for Perth, Jasprit Bumrah, would be the vice-captain.
With Shami still trying to make a Test return after over a year, Bumrah is India's best pace bet in Australia. He has 32 wickets across just seven BGT Tests and has been given extensive rest before the series to allow him to play all five matches.
Cummins and Hazlewood, who are lethal beyond their excellent bowling averages of 19.69 and 23.06 in Australia, were easy picks over the relatively unpolished Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep. Starc's blow-hot-blow-coldness in red-ball cricket, which would probably make him the first rotation option after Perth, also loses his place in this 11.
Both teams would probably prefer just one spinner in the first Test and Australia's Nathan Lyon would be the pick for this team, ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. Lyon has proven he's the better spinner among the three in Australia and nothing epitomizes that better than his stats at the Perth Stadium, where he can use his over-spin the best: four Tests, 27 wickets (!), and an average of 18.