Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant missed out as India confirmed their playing XI for the first Test against Australia. The opening India vs Australia Test match will be pink-ball day-night Test and will be played at Adelaide on December 17, 2020 (Thursday). India revealed their playing XI almost a day before the Test. Wriddhiman Saha was picked as the wicket-keeper for this day-night pink ball fixture while Prithvi Shaw, who has looked horribly out of form in recent times, kept his place as the opening batsman. Gill, who showed fine form in both the practice matches, was left out as was Pant, who scored a century in the second warm-up match. Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant Miss Out as India Announce Playing XI for 1st Test Against Australia.

Gill is expected to fill in as a middle-order batsman when captain Kohli leaves the team following the conclusion of the first Test match. But with the 21-year-old showing good resilience and control against the new ball in the second practice match, which was a pink ball affair, he was expected to get the nod ahead of Shaw, who has struggled with the bat and managed only 62 runs in four innings in the warm-up matches. India vs Australia 1st Test 2020 Preview

Pant, who has great memories of his previous trip to Australia, was also not picked for the pink ball Test match with regular wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha picked as the wicket-keeper batsman in the side. Saha scored a fine half-century in the first practice match to help India A draw that game. Pant, on the other, scored an unbeaten hundred in the pink-ball warm-up match. Twitterati reacted in disappointment after Gill and Pant were both ignored from selection. Take a look at some of the best reactions on India’s playing XI on Twitter.

Shubman Gill Unluckier

Prithvi Shaw Gets Another Chance to Repay Faith

Meltdown...

No Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill in India Playing XI

Meme Alert!!

Shubman Gill Not Picked Despite Great Show in Practice Matches?

Outrage Has Already Begun...

No Shubman Gill and Rishabh pant After Brilliant Performances in Practice Matches

Hanuma Vihari, who also scored a hundred in the second warm-up match was also picked ahead of both Pant and Gill. Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will open the batting for the Indian team followed by Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Ravichandran Ashwin was picked as the sole spinner in the side as India went with a three-man pace attack.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 16, 2020 02:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).