The Indian Test team captain Rohit Sharma, known for his witty nature, said that India included Tanush Kotian as Kuldeep Yadav lacked visa for Australia. A bit of comic relief, as he soon clarified that Kuldeep is yet to be fully fit after his hernia operation. The Mumbai-prodigy Tanush got his maiden India call-up as a backup spinner in the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin, who recently announced his retirement. Tanush, the off-spin batting all-rounder, has been in red-hot form in the domestics, becoming a dependable option for the Shreyas Iyer-led Mumbai side. Coming back to the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, India will pay the fourth Test match at Melbourne on December 26. Prior to the Test, in the press conference, Rohit announced Tanush's brilliance as one of the major reasons for his inclusion. However, he also clarified that Kuldeep had a hernia operation and Axar Patel recently had a baby. In the conference, Rohit said, "Yeah, Tanush was here a month back. Kuldeep, I don't think has a visa. We wanted somebody to get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready. That's just a joke. He played here. He is good enough. He has shown what he has done in the last 1–2 years in domestic cricket. And we really wanted a back-up in case we need two spinners playing here or Sydney, you need a back-up option. Kuldeep, obviously, he is not 100 percent fit, he went through hernia surgery. And the other options like Axar, Axar recently had a baby, he was not going to travel. Tanush was the right option for us. He has certainly shown in the domestic level what he is capable of. He is probably one of the reasons why Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy last year. He played a major role as an all-rounder. Very good option for us, all areas are covered," Read also: MCG’s Selfie Machine: A Unique Cricket Fan Experience! Tanush Kotian, 26, has been a standout for Mumbai in domestic cricket. Key to Mumbai's Ranji Trophy victory, he amassed 502 runs at 41.83 and took 29 wickets at 16.96. He recently toured Australia for the India A and is thus familiar with Australian conditions, which will ease his comfort in Melbourne. An off-spinner and dependable batsman, he boasts 101 wickets in 33 first-class matches at 25.70 and a batting average of 41.21 from 47 innings. Kotian at what cost? Rohit has already hinted that India will play two spinners at Melbourne, and Kotain can be one of the two options for India. But at what cost? Reports are suggesting that Nitish Reddy can be rested in Melbourne, giving space for the second spinner. However, the pitch curator of MCG, Matt Page, had earlier clarified that there will be six millimeters of grass covering that will help the pacers with new balls and had downplayed cracks with time. But traditionally, around the fourth day, batting gets tricky as cracks normally get widened, aiding spinners. India's squad for fourth and fifth Tests Rohit Sharma (capt), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Tanush Kotian