Indian Players Depart For Australia: Shubman Gill And Yashasvi Jaiswal Lead First Batch For BGT

Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were among the first group of Indian cricketers who left for Australia on Sunday night, November 10, from Mumbai Airport. They are heading there for the eagerly awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The initial Test match of the India vs Australia series is set to take place in Perth on November 22. This series holds significant importance as it may determine India's qualification for the World Test Championship 2025 final. The Indian team is travelling in two separate groups.

Joining Gill and Jaiswal were fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, seen at the airport with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. All-rounder Washington Sundar and middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan also travelled with this first group heading to Australia.

• Yashasvi Jaiswal
• Shubman Gill
• Washington Sundar
• Sarfaraz Khan
• Akash Deep
• Mohammed Siraj

The second batch of players will leave on Monday, November 11. This group includes notable names like Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Harshit Rana, and head coach Gautam Gambhir.

KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, and Prasidh Krishna are already in Australia. They travelled earlier for unofficial Tests between India A and Australia A.

The reserve players—Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mukesh Kumar—are part of the India A team that has been in Australia for several weeks.

The squad includes Rohit Sharma as captain and Jasprit Bumrah as vice-captain. Other key players are Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, and Washington Sundar.

Rohit Sharma was initially expected to travel with the first group but will join after the first Test in Perth. Following a disappointing series against New Zealand at home where India lost 3-0, they need a 4-0 win against Australia to secure a spot in the WTC final in London for a third consecutive time.

The second Test will be a day-night match at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. The third Test is scheduled at The Gabba in Brisbane from December 14 to 18.

The Boxing Day Test will occur at Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30. The series concludes with the fifth Test at Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7.