IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test: Ravindra Jadeja in, Hanuma Vihari out?

The Indian team management will be keenly monitoring Ravindra Jadejas progress leading up to the Boxing Day Test against Australia this weekend as if fit the allrounder could walk into the playing XI in place of Hanuma VihariJadeja who suffered a concussion during the first T20 international also sustained a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the first Test However over the past few days when India were playing the Test match Jadeja has slowly returned to the netsIt is learnt that the senior allrounder is recovering well but it cant be said with certainty that he will be 100 per cent fit for the second Test in Melbourne starting on December 26India batsman Hanuma Vihari during the pink ball Test against AustraliaBut if fit the axe will fall on Andhra Pradesh batsman Vihari not because of his low scores in the Adelaide Test but purely based on the best combination that standin skipper Ajinkya Rahane and coach Ravi Shastri can put on the fieldFive bowlers for MCG TestIf Jadeja gets fit to bowl long spells then there is no debate at all Jadeja replaces Vihari on the basis of his allround skills Also it gives us an option to play five bowlers at the MCG a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymityJadeja has 1869 runs in 49 Tests at an average of 35 plus which includes a hundred and 14 fifties He has struck half centuries in both England Australia on previous toursOn the other hand Vihari in his 10 Tests has scored 576 runs with a hundred against West Indies and four halfcenturies at an average of 33 plus There is a school of thought that if pure batting skills are taken into account then there is not much of a difference between specialist Vihari and allrounder JadejaWith Mohammed Shami already ruled out of the series because of a wrist fracture India might just be tempted to go in with five specialist bowlers instead of the usual four which has been their template for yearsPractice called offThe Indian team had a scheduled practice session at the Adelaide Oval on Monday but due to steady rain it had to be cancelled With skipper Virat Kohli set to leave for India on Tuesday and the squad travelling to Melbourne the skipper apparently had a chat with his team on the way forward after the 36 allout debacle hereRohit in SydneySenior batsman Rohit Sharma can start training from January 3 ahead of the Sydney Test He is currently locked in a hard quarantine in a tworoom apartment in SydneyCricket Australia has already flown David Warner and Sean Abbott from Sydney to Melbourne due to restrictions imposed by the New South Wales state government in the wake of another surge of COVD19 casesThe BCCI at the moment cant shift Rohit in the middle of quarantine The other aspect is that CA is still confident of hosting the third Test in Sydney from January 7 as per schedule and in that case there is no need to shift the senior player to Melbourne as in any case he is not playing the second game In case the situation changes and the third Test match is shifted the BCCI will discuss with CA and take necessary steps