Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said he is "really surprised" by all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's exclusion from the first Test against Australia. "They've got 855 wickets between them in Test cricket. They're not bowlers who can just play in Indian or sub-continent conditions," he added. Notably, India have included Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy in the playing XI.