Australia skipper Tim Paine has said that the Australian team will wait until the toss of the first Test against India before revealing their playing XI. India has already shared their playing XI for the opening match of the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting Dec 17 in Adelaide.
Paine confirmed Cameron Green is fit ahead of the pink-ball Test for a debut, but he didn't hint about opener Joe Burns' inclusion. “We will be keeping that in-house at the moment,” Paine said Wednesday.
Steve Smith didn't practice on Tuesday because of back soreness but returned to the nets on Wednesday. “Steve has had a stiff back a number of times of before — and you do when you bat at training as much as he does,” Paine said. “But his preparation has been very good. He has batted for the last week since we have been in Adelaide. For him to have a day off might actually be a blessing in disguise.”
Green had suffered a concussion during the pink-ball warm-up game, but Paine said medical reports are good for the youngster to make his Test debut.
“He is pretty good to go,” Paine said. “He obviously trained with us yesterday, reports are he has pulled up really well this morning. All things going well, Cam Green will make his test debut tomorrow.”
Australia's opening batters are still not clear yet and Paine said they might promote Matthew Wade up in the order if needed.
“He is certainly an option . . . no doubt about that,” Paine said. “We have got a number of guys who are willing to open the batting. He is willing to put his body on the line for the team. Obviously, we have got a scenario where we could have different openers and we have had a number of guys put their hand up to do it if it’s the best thing for the team.”
Australia head coach Justin Langer has faith in Joe Burns to come good despite his poor form lately. “I’ve been talking to Joe . . . I’ve been privately and publicly backing Joe in the whole time,” Langer said. “He’s a very good player. You don’t lose your talent overnight. He also understands that runs are the greatest currency for any player.”
AUS v IND 2020-21: BCCI announces Team India Playing XI for the Adelaide D/N Test
The competitive Aussie cricketers love to have a go against the opposition verbally, but India captain Virat Kohli doesn't want his team to engage in any unnecessary stuff.
“This year has made people realize a lot of things that might not have been necessary in the past — when you hold grudges or have unnecessary tension between teams or individuals — is absolutely pointless,” Kohli said.
“I don’t think things are going to be as personal as they used to be. The unnecessary stuff is going to get filtered out . . . (because of) a combination of playing IPL together, Australia changing their approach to an extent, and just the way things have panned out this year.”
(With Associated Press Inputs)
