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.’’

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 line-up.

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.