3 Players who could open for India in the Boxing Day Test against Australia

#2 Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel is an experienced campaigner

India's most senior member in the current Test squad in Australia, Parthiv Patel could be considered as an option to open alongside Mayank Agarwal in the Boxing Day Test on December 26. He is indeed the most experienced player, having toured to Australia way back in 2004 as a 19-year old wicket-keeper for India.

A right-left combination at the top would also force the bowlers to change their line and length. Being a good back-foot player, Parthiv's batting could prove to be handy for India to see off the new ball and muster quick runs at the top.

Parthiv would play as a Wicket-keeper batsman, which would also allow India to experiment at the No.7 slot in the pecking order in place of Rishabh Pant. The visitors might then afford the luxury of playing Hardik Pandya as an all-rounder to account for fifth bowler and a handy lower order batsman.