Marsh in, Indian openers out
Australia have recalled allrounder Mitch Marsh for the Boxing Day test against India, dropping struggling batsman Peter Handscomb.
It is the second time in as many years Handscomb has been dropped two tests into the summer, with Marsh’s part-time seamers getting him the nod.
Skipper Tim Paine acknowledged on the eve of the test that Handscomb needed to work on the technical side of his game after falling cheaply in Adelaide and Perth.
‘‘I’m sure Pete would be upset,’’ Paine told reporters.
‘‘I think he’s had conversations with the selectors that there’s a few things that they would like him to work on and Pete is open to that.
‘‘Obviously it’s a long series and our bowlers have had a really big workload. We feel that we’re going to need Mitch’s bowling at some point.
‘‘We know that Pete at his best is going to score a lot of test runs. He brings a hell of a lot to our side. We love having him around the group and I’m sure he’ll score a lot more runs for Australia.’’
Handscomb also struggled during last summer’s Ashes series and could struggle to get back into the side when Steve Smith returns for the tour of the UK next winter.
Paine said Handscomb would come into consideration for the fourth test at the SCG, typically the most spin-friendly of the Australian pitches.
‘‘Going to Sydney, a place where it normally spins, I think people come back into the fold pretty quickly because he’s renowned as probably our best player of spin,’’ Paine said.
‘‘I know he’ll be doing everything he can to get back into the side.’’
After losing the first test in Adelaide, Australia fought back in Perth to level the series and take momentum into the biggest fixture of the summer.
But Paine, who sparred verbally with Indian counterpart Virat Kohli in Perth, played down suggestions that his side had all the momentum.
‘‘We don’t feel like we’re on top of them. We feel like we’re getting better every test,’’ he said.
‘‘Certainly, when you’ve got an inexperienced playing group and you get a big win like we did in Perth against the number one team in the world, guys are going to grow in confidence a little bit and come to Melbourne feeling a bit better than we did when we went to Perth.’’
Meanwhile, India have dropped both opening batsmen among three changes for the test.
KL Rahul and Murali Vijay as well as paceman Umesh Yadav were those replaced in the lineup. Offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin was again ruled out, having not fully recovered from the abdominal strain that sidelined him in the second Perth test.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja comes into the XI after missing the first two tests, batsman Rohit Sharma has been recalled and Mayank Agarwal is set to make his debut.
The series is locked at 1-1.
At a glance
Australia: Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Tim Paine (capt), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.