India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah left everyone stunned at the time of the toss when he confirmed that the team would play as an XI for the opening Test against Australia in Perth. Bumrah along with the team management, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, decided to pull off a big surprise by picking spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar ahead of experienced duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for the series opener. Sundar, who came into the series on the back of a stellar performance against New Zealand, was entrusted with the responsibility of the lone spinner, ahead of spin twins Ashwin and Jadeja.

It was Bumrah who won the toss and chose to bat first. After winning the toss, Bumrah confirmed that a total of four pacers were awarded the prize for the match in Perth, and only one spinner. Apart from the Sundar surprise, the Indian team also handed debuts to pace bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and seamer Harshit Rana before the match.

“We will bat first, looks like a good wicket. Lots of confidence in our preparation. We have played a Test match here in 2018 so we know what to expect. The wicket is getting faster. Nitish is making his debut. We have 4 quick and Washi is the only spinner,” Bumrah said during the toss.

India’s playing XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj

Australian captain Pat Cummins, meanwhile, said his team would also have decided to bat first. But it was a 50-50 conversation.

“We were 50-50, either way, we’re pretty happy. We feel well placed, pretty fresh. Every format we (India-Australia) play seems closely contested. Nathan McSweeney makes our debut at the top of the rankings Cummins said afterwards. lose the toss.

Australia also made his debut for opening batsman Nathan McSweeney, who would look to replace the retired David Warner in the side.

Australia’s playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood