Sydney: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has revealed that pacer Akash Deep will miss the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy. The pacer will miss the fixture starting from Friday in Sydney due to a stiff back.
The right-arm, pacer took five wickets in the first couple of Tests in the series. The 28-year-old was bowled brilliantly but lacked support from the fielders as several catches were dropped on his bowling.
"Akash Deep is out with a back issue," India coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed during the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
🚨 AKASHDEEP RULED OUT OF THE SYDNEY TEST MATCH...!!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/GRsmF4jyT8
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 2, 2025
Deep bowled a total of 87.5 overs in the series so far taking a major workload in the Indian bowling unit. Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna are the other two options who are likely to replace him in the playing XI for the Melbourne Test.
Meanwhile, Beau Webster is all set to make a debut for Australia in the fifth Test. He will replace Mitchell Marsh who has managed to muster only 73 runs in seven innings across four Tests. Also, he has bowled only 33 overs in the series taking only three wickets.
JUST IN: Pat Cummins confirms a change to the playing XI for the SCG Test #AUSvIND
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"We have one change in our side: Beau Webster replaces Mitch Marsh. Mitch knows he hasn't scored enough runs," Australia captain Pat Cummins stated in the press conference.
Australia will be aiming to emerge triumphant in the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since the 2014/15 series. Australia are leading the series by 2-1 and a win or even a draw will be enough for them to win the series. For India, it is necessary to win the Sydney Test to sustain themselves in the race to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
