Australia v India: Batting burden falls on Virat Kohli's shoulders once again ahead of Perth Test

Tourists likely to be without Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill for opening match of five-Test series

India's Virat Kohli, centre, Rishabh Pant, left, and Jasprit Bumrah during practice in Perth ahead of the five-Test series against Australia. AFP

While India's T20 team is raising the bar by setting new records home and away, their Test counterparts seem to be headed in the opposite direction with misfortune following them at every turn.

Rohit Sharma's team recently sunk to a new low when they were walloped 3-0 at home by an understrength New Zealand team, which not only ended India's long-standing unbeaten run at home but also hindered hopes of making it to the World Test Championship final next year.

While India's T20 team has been threatening to breach the 300-run mark, their Test side failed to chase down 147 in the third Test in Mumbai. Even though the conditions and formats were vastly different, there is some truth to the notion that the T20 team would have chased down the runs in Mumbai. Or at least would not have fallen so far behind in all sessions of all three Tests.

Conjecture aside, the Test team stands exposed with no respite in sight just days before the first Test against world champions Australia in Perth on Friday.

India are all but certain to miss the services of captain Rohit for the opening Test, who remained in the country for the birth of his second child. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team in his absence.

Complicating matters for the team is the injury to middle order batsman Shubman Gill, who fractured his thumb in a training session in Perth on Saturday.

Gill injured his left thumb while fielding and is a major doubt for the match, with the emphasis now on being ready for the second Test.

In the absence of their opener and number three batsman, India find themselves in a pickle as their first-choice batting line-up was already woefully out of form and entering the series without a single warm-up fixture against a local Aussie side.

KL Rahul, too, had left the field on Friday's first day of the intra-squad session after being struck on the elbow by fast-bowling teammate Prasidh Krishna. However, he was back batting on Sunday following an X-ray.

"The key for us is to make sure there's no fracture or bony lesions in there," India physiotherapist Kamlesh Jain said in a video posted on the Indian cricket board's X account.

"[It's been] 48 hours since the impact and he has responded well to the treatments. He should be ready to go."

Rahul, 32, was left out of the team during the New Zealand Test series defeat but was expected to walk back into the playing XI in Australia as he is one of the few batsmen to have the technique and record to perform well in pace-friendly conditions.

And with the absence of Rohit and, potentially, Gill, Rahul is almost certain to start and possibly as an opener.

Young batsman Devdutt Padikkal, who made his Test debut in March and is in Australia with the India A squad, has been asked to stay in the country and is also in the running to play in Perth. He was one of the few batsmen to score consistently during the A team series.

All about Kohli

It means that once again India will be relying almost exclusively on Virat Kohli to thwart Australia's pace attack on what are set to be lightning fast pitches for at least the first three matches.

Kohli is the only batsman of pedigree in the team who has scored consistently in Australia, apart from Rishabh Pant. Kohli, 36, is on what is almost certainly his last tour of Australia and will have to do the heavy lifting, since the team has closed the chapter on Australia specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.

Kohli's own form is far from inspiring, though; the star batsman struggled against both spin and pace in the New Zealand series. There will be no place to hide against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the five-Test series, where India seem already on the back foot as they try to defend their proud record of four successive series wins over the Aussies.

Such is the chaos in the India team, there is a distinct possibility of Test debuts for either Nitish Kumar Reddy or Harshit Rana, just so that the team has an extra pace bowler who is also a good bat.

There are individual points of strength in the team, though. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal will take the attack to the Aussie bowlers as long as he is at the crease, with conditions likely to suit his fast-paced batting.

Pant and fellow wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel have been in great form, and should offer some solidity in the middle order. India's fast bowlers should also be able to make an impact with Bumrah leading a line-up that can easily exploit conditions loaded in favour of the quicks.

However, if Bumrah picks up an injury or Kohli continues to fail with the bat, the series could well be over before it really gets started.