India have announced their playing XI for the Boxing Day Test against Australia, scheduled to start on Saturday at the MCG. According to the playing XI announced by the BCCI, Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill are set to make their Test debut, but KL Rahul’s exclusion has left fans disappointed.
According to the playing XI, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side in the absence of Virat Kohli, who’s returned to India for the expected birth of his first child. Rahane will open the innings with Mayank Agarwal, while Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari will strengthen the middle-order along with Rishab Pant, who’s replaced Wriddhiman Saha as the wicketkeeper-batsman in the side. Other players of the playing XI include Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who’s replaced an injured Mohammad Shami.
But KL Rahul’s exclusion did not go unnoticed amongst cricket crazy fans, who took to social media to vent out their frustration.
No Virat
No Rohit
No KL Rahul
Top 3 Indian batsmen of current era are not playing
Two of our 3 frontline seamers are not playing
It’s not India v/s Australia
It’s IndiaA v/s Australia
What’s your say @cricketaakash @vikrantgupta73 ??#IndvsAus pic.twitter.com/PxLl81Zt9U— Handsome_Pranav (@pranav_handsome) December 25, 2020
When you are happy that Prithvi Shaw ?is removed
BUT then realise that #KLRahul is not in the playing #XI ?. pic.twitter.com/YN9w9BCKYL— Neelansh Mishra (@NeelanshMishra7) December 25, 2020
What, no KL???♂️
Can’t understand the logic of keeping a person of KL’s calibre out, moreover looking at his recent form, and history of century in Aus, would have definitely strengthened the weak middle order.#TeamIndia #KLRahul https://t.co/iNw2z1cbMF
— Nagaraj Kamath (@nagaraaj_kamath) December 25, 2020
No place for @klrahul11 in team for 2nd test match vs #Australia . My meme #KLRahul #INDvsAUSTest #fans #indfans pic.twitter.com/ZkugkLPwei
— Yoganantham Shankar (@immortal_yoga) December 25, 2020
Many including former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer had advised the team management to pick KL Rahul along with Gill. Jaffer posted another coded tweet on Rahul’s exclusion as he wrote, ”
New
Opportunities
Kindle
Life
#BoxingDayTest #WeBelieve”
New
Opportunities
Kindle
Life #BoxingDayTest #WeBelieve https://t.co/CzFV3XWLdh— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 25, 2020
India scored their lowest-ever Test total of 36 runs in the second innings of the first Border-Gavaskar Test, which the visitors lost by eight wickets.