Delhi speedster Harshit Rana could pose a strong challenge to senior teammate Prasidh Krishna as they battle it out for the third pacer’s slot in the India playing XI for the opening Test against Australia in Perth, starting on November 22. Harshit, who is only 10 first-class matches old, has reportedly been brilliant with his consistent pace over 140 clicks and his ability to extract good bounce has also impressed the bigwigs. During the India nets at the WACA ground in Perth, Harshit hurried the batters with his raw pace on a number of occasions. On the other hand, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel spent considerable time with the Karnataka man, who was impressive during the recent A series against Australia at Mackay and Melbourne.

Prasidh has experience of playing two Tests and can also hit the top of off-stump.

Shami not to be rushed to Australia

Mohammed Shami’s international comeback might take place in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but it could happen during the second half of the series.

Those privy to developments said BCCI medical team and national selectors want Shami to play a few more competitive games in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to check if his body is holding up after multiple games even if it’s a white ball format tournament.

“Bengal team for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be selected tomorrow. If Shami is not going for Border Gavaskar Trophy, I believe he will be available for Bengal,” head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla told PTI.

It is understood that the selection committee doesn’t want to take chances by fast-tracking Shami after just one Ranji Trophy match having completed an extensive rehabilitation programme.

However, Shami, who appeared in a competitive match after a year, was impressive in his outing for Bengal against Madhya Pradesh at Indore, returning with a seven-wicket match haul in his side’s first victory of the season.