MUMBAI — India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the remaining two Tests in Australia with a shoulder injury and will be replaced by uncapped left-arm spinner Akshar Patel, the country's cricket board (BCCI) said Monday. Jadeja, who did not play in either of the defeats in Adelaide and Brisbane, will return home to undergo a rehabilitation program. The 20-year-old Patel has played nine One-Day Internationals for India since making his debut against Bangladesh in June. The third Test starts in Melbourne from Friday with the last match of the series in Sydney from Jan. 6. Test of India's resolve With all hope of a first series triumph in Australia gone after defeats in the first two Tests, India needs to draw on its reserves of pride and motivation to avoid a seventh straight Test loss on Australian soil. If the tourists can retain the fighting spirit that has made the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests anything but one-sided contests, however, it could record a victory of some significance at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Since it triumphed in Perth in January 2008, neither side has won a Test match in the other's country with Australia suffering 2-0, 2-0 and 4-0 defeats on the Subcontinent and India losing all four Tests on its 2011-12 tour. There have been signs too that Australia, for all the confidence that back-to-back Test victories will bring to any side, has a fragility to its batting order that India's pace attack can exploit. Prolific opener David Warner has a bruised thumb that could hamper him if he is passed fit to play, veterans Shane Watson and Brad Haddin are in poor form, while injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh has been replaced by the uncapped Joe Burns. Quite how Australia will line up when the Test starts in front of the traditional bumper crowd Friday is matter of some conjecture with coach Darren Lehmann suggesting Burns could slot in anywhere in the top six. Against that instability, there is the sparkling form of stand-in skipper Steve Smith and the mercurial menace of paceman Mitchell Johnson, whose performances with bat and ball turned the Gabba Test. Fast bowler Ryan Harris has recovered from a thigh strain and should return in place of left-arm quick Mitch Starc alongside Johnson and Josh Hazlewood, who took 5-68 in his first innings in Test cricket. India looks the more settled of the two sides, though, with the fast bowlers working as unit and taking wickets, while the top six batsmen have all got into the runs at some stage of the series. — Agencies
