The encounter will be the first of the five Border-Gavaskar Trophy contests as India struggle with a series of name absentees. According to Shastri, Nitish will have to imitate Shardul Thakur who was an unsung hero in India's Test series win Down Under in 2020-21. Shastri urges Nitish to step up "Nitish Reddy will have to do a job like Shardul Thakur did as the fourth seamer," Shastri told the International Cricket Council. "He can bat a bit, give the bowlers a little bit of respite so that they can bowl in short spellsâ€æand be someone who will have to be good for those eight to 10 overs that he bowls." In what was Shardul's first competitive red-ball match on foreign soil, he scored 67 runs in the first innings and backed that with seven wickets in the match in the historic Gabba Test. While Rishabh Pant stole the headlines for taking India home under Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy, Shardul's efforts with bat and ball were the big difference-maker for the visitors.   With key names like Rohit Sharma (paternity leave) and Shubman Gill (thumb injury) missing, Nitish is expected to get his debut in the red-ball format. He has already represented India in the T20I series against Bangladesh in October and will look to make an instant impact during the upcoming BGT. Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India-Australia series) Schedule 1st Test: 22nd November to 26th November, Perth 2nd Test: 6th December to 10th December, Adelaide 3rd Test: 14th December to 18th December, Brisbane 4th Test: 26th December to 30th December, Melbourne 5th Test: 3rd January to 7th January, Sydney