India and Australia will take part in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February-March this year. It will be an important series for India. The men in blue will have to undergo a transition and we could see some surprising calls for the tournament. On that note, here, we take a look at three Indians who could be surprise selections for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
1) Deepak Hooda
Deepak Hooda did well for India in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. However, before joining the squad, he scored 382 runs in two games in the Ranji Trophy.
Australia has David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Alex Carey as the left-handers in the XI. While R Ashwin is available, India might need an extra right-arm off-spinner. If Ravindra Jadeja is unavailable or if India needs an extra middle-order batter, Deepak Hooda would be a good choice. Apart from the bat, he would add relevance with his right-arm off-spin bowling.
Top win and a great start to the seriesđź’™ pic.twitter.com/leOTBbB6K4
— Deepak Hooda (@HoodaOnFire) January 3, 2023
2) Jalaj Saxena
Jalaj Saxena is one of the Indians who could be a surprise selection for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. In 129 FC games, Jalaj has scored 6439 runs and has collected 386 wickets.
Even in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, the 36-year-old has picked up 26 scalps in three games. Yes, he might be too old for a debut but considering Australia has a lot of left-handers, Jalaj could be given a chance.
3) Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal played for India A recently. Since Shikhar Dhawan, India has not had a regular left-handed opener. Since India’s opening combination has the scope for being changed, it might be a good time to introduce Yashasvi.
Yes, it could be hard for the other players in the queue but India will have to take a few hard decisions. It is necessary to groom youngsters and the Mumbai cricketer could be an interesting option for the management.
