Australia Names Phillip Hughes as 13th Man in Test Squad, Clarke Declared Fit

The Baggy Green and other state representative caps belonging to Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes hang near his casket before the start of his funeral service in the town of Macksville, located north of Sydney, December 3, 2014. The funeral of Australian test cricketer Phillip Hughes began to the strains of a song entitled "Forever Young" in his home town on Wednesday as a nation united to celebrate the life of a sportsman cut down in his prime. Eight days after Hughes was struck by a ball in the back of the head and six after he died of the catastrophic injuries that resulted, his family, friends and a host of cricketing greats gathered at Macksville High School to bid farewell to him. REUTERS/Cameron Spencer/Pool

Phillip Hughes is going to be a part of the Border-Gavaskar series with India even though his teammates will miss him on the field. Australia named Hughes as the 13^th man of the team for the first test starting on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in Adelaide.

Hughes' inclusion as the 13^th member of the team may be considered to be an exception gesture from Australia while Michael Clarke was declared totally fit to play the first test. The selectors, on the other hand, did not include in-form fast bowler Josh Hazlewood in the final eleven as he was declared as the 12^th man. Australia is going to stick to its successful and experienced bowling trio in Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson at the moment. While Harris is going to make a comeback eight months after his knee surgery, Siddle was preferred for his tenacity and discipline in Adelaide which promises to have a "thankless" pitch.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Clarke was accompanied by Johnson at the pre-Test press conference. The pacer was given a rare opportunity to declare that test squad. One may wonder how the players will deal with the tremendous pressure of playing against India due to the recent emotional turmoil for Hughes' death, each player declared himself ready to represent his country on the international level. Australian cricketers, on the other hand, will sport Hughes' Test number 408 on their shirts.

Unlike Australia, India is going to have its usual captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the team. While Dhoni arrived in Australia, he would miss the Test due to a thumb injury. Virat Kohli, the stand-in captain for India, is going to lead the team in Adelaide. Even though Dhoni bowled and batted at the nets on Sunday, he is reportedly not fit enough to keep wicket for the Test match. Australia, on the contrary, is sure to feel inspired because of the inclusion of Clarke. "It's a huge boost to have him back in and playing for us and with his captaincy," The Guardian quoted Johnson, "He is a strong leader and has always been an aggressive leader ... he just has something about him when he's out there as captain."

Here is the complete team:

Michael Clarke (captain)

Brad Haddin (vice-captain)

Chris Rogers

David Warner

Steve Smith

Shane Watson

Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Johnson

Ryan Harris

Peter Siddle

Nathan Lyon