IND vs AUS: Who is Todd Murphy, off-spinner who debuted against India in Nagpur

The 22-year-old from Victoria has scalped 29 wickets 25.20 from 10 first-class matches and is the least experienced candidate among the other three Aussie spinners in the squad.

Todd Murphy of Australia bowls during a training session ahead of the first Test against India. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Off-spinner Todd Murphy got his first Test cap for Australia against India during the series opener of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Wednesday at the VCA stadium in Nagpur.

The 22-year-old from Victoria has scalped 29 wickets at 25.20 from 10 first-class matches and is the least experienced candidate among the other three Aussie spinners in the squad— Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson.

Nathan Lyon presents Todd Murphy his maiden Test cap at the Australian huddle.#INDvsAUS#BorderGavaskarTrophy@sportstarwebpic.twitter.com/PMs0Vda7Gc

— Santadeep Dey (@SantadeepDey) February 9, 2023

Murphy was the first bowler to strike for Australia when he had KL Rahul caught and bowled on 20, a few overs before stumps on Day 1, after India had bundled the visitor on 177.

Earlier this month when Sportstar caught up with the offie, he said, “It came as a bit of a surprise (being included in the Australian squad), to be honest. I’ve been lucky enough that over my First-Class games, I’ve been able to perform well in a few of them, so it was nice that what I’ve been doing had got recognised, and the selectors see something in me.”

The last time Australia  played two specialist off-spinners was in 1988, when Tim May and Peter Taylor played two Tests together in Pakistan.