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'Gill be like: Mereko toh andar lo' - Fans react as Dinesh Karthik names his India playing XI for 1st Test, snubs in-form Shubman Gill

Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik took to Twitter and shared his India playing XI for the first Test against Australia

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Rohit Kumar
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Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill (Source - Twitter)

Dinesh Karthik and Shubman Gill (Source - Twitter)

Team India is set to host Australia for a four-match Test series starting on Thursday, February 9. India, under the leadership of captain Rohit Sharma, will look to book their place in the Test Championship, which can be sealed if they win the series. However, Australia were unable to win a Test series in India since 2004.

Meanwhile, Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik took to Twitter and share his India playing XI for the first Test against Australia. Karthik picked KL Rahul as the opening partner for Rohit Sharma for the first Test. The 37-year-old slotted Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav in India’s batting order. However, he didn’t include the in-form batter Shubman Gill in his Playing XI.

He opted to include Suryakumar at no.5 in place of injured Shreyas Iyer. The star batter also missed the New Zealand series with a back injury. With KS Bharat as his wicketkeeper of choice, Karthik picked Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel as the all-rounders and for the spinning department as well. He picked up only two fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, in his star-studded Indian playing XI for the series opener.

Josh Hazlewood reportedly ruled out of the first Test

Meanwhile, the Kangaroos will reportedly play the first Test without their premium fast bowler Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Allrounder Cameron Green is also ruled out of the first Test due to injury. But this time, the Aussies will be hoping to win the series with the firepower of the likes of Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who are in great form.

It’s a no-brainer how much Smith loves to play against India. Smith has scored 1,742 runs against India in 14 Test matches at an average of 76.58. Given his record and tremendous form, Smith will be one of the most prized wickets in the upcoming series. He was also seen practising against Ashwin’s impersonator Mahesh Pithiya in the nets and shockingly got bowled and stumped on his bowling. It’d be interesting to see how he performs in this series against the quality spinners.

Here's how fans reacted:

Dinesh Karthik IND vs AUS