'India must stick with Nitish Kumar Reddy': Sunil Gavaskar's confident view on Playing XI for Boxing Day Test'

Since the conclusion of the third Test at the Gabba, there have been significant developments. India's legendary all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement immediately following the drawn match. In his place, rookie off-spinning all-rounder Tanush Kotian has been called up to join the squad for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Meanwhile, Australia has made a notable change by dropping Nathan McSweeney and confirming the debut of 19-year-old Sam Konstas as an opener for the Boxing Day Test set to start on Thursday. And that's not the end of it—if rumors hold true, we can expect even more surprises ahead.

Rohit Sharma could be back at the top of the order and Washington Sundar is likely to make a comeback in the XI as India are seriously considering the prospect of playing two spin-bowling all-rounders for the first time in this series. Rohit returning as an opener could mean multiple changes in India's batting order. KL Rahul could get a new batting position at No.3 in place of a struggling Shubman Gill, who could either slide down to No.4 or get replaced by Dhurv Jurel.

Another school of thought suggests that Sundar plays in place of Gill to provide India with more bowling options. Given India's batting performances in this series, this, however, could be a risky move.

‘India can’t drop Nitish Reddy'

The straight swap should be between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Sundar. Reddy has been one of India's top batters down the order but his bowling hasn't been able to trouble the Australian batters that much. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, however, believes India should not drop Reddy.

"They can't drop Nitish Kumar Reddy. He is the fourth seamer. I can't see India going in with just two pacers and Nitish. For me, it is pretty much this XI that plays in MCG," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

When asked if there was a possibility of India picking Harshit Rana, Gavaskar said Akash Deep should get another chance, especially after the heorics he showed with the bat to save the follow-on at the Gabba.

"Unlikely that Harshit will replace Akash Deep. Why would you drop a man who has saved your team from follow-on?" he asked.

The five-match series is currently locked 1-1.

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