This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Konstas, 20, misses out after a poor tour with the bat in the West Indies, while Weatherald has been included after topping the Sheffield Shield runs list
All-rounder Max Maxwell, who has been sidelined by a wrist injury, will come in for the last three games, while Test certainty Josh Hazlewood will skip the last three games.
India will look to overcome batting inconsistencies and finish the tour of Australia with authority when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Brisbane on Saturday.
Cummins is also unlikely to feature in the first Ashes Test, starting November 21 in Perth, and in that scenario former skipper Smith will captain Australia.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed a T20-style 86-ball 113, while Vedant Trivedi made a patient 140 as India Under-19 took a commanding 185-run lead against Australia Under-19 on Day 2 of the first Youth Test.
Seamer Deepesh Devendran impressed with a five-wicket haul to help India Under-19 bowl out Australia U-19 for 243, on Day 1 of the first Youth Test.
He has since returned for key assignments, including the 2022 T20 World Cup victory and both the Ashes and ODI World Cup campaigns in 2023.
Australia are confident that captain Pat Cummins will play a significant part in the Ashes series, head selector George Bailey said, as questions remain over the paceman's fitness for the opening Test in Perth.
Players, including Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Washington Sundar, were spotted at Brisbane Airport, greeted by a small group of enthusiastic fans.
England last won the Ashes in 2015 and have not won a series in Australia since 2011 but Root was optimistic about their chances this time around.
McDonald also said the selectors would consider a Test recall for Mitch Marsh, even if Australia's white-ball captain said last week he would be watching the Ashes series beer in hand.
England batter Harry Brook has cautioned against underestimating Australia in the Ashes series, even as doubts linger over the availability of their captain and fast bowler, Pat Cummins, for the opener in Perth.
Aryan Sharma, a 17-year-old inspired by Virat Kohli, saw his 2018 message to the Indian batting great to 'watch him play for Australia in 2025' come to life.
Teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi showed glimpses of his batting prowess before wicketkeeper Abhigyan Kundu and Vedant Trivedi's unbeaten half-centuries powered India U-19 to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Australia U-19 in the first Youth ODI, in Brisbane on Sunday.
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
Australia captain Pat Cummins said on Monday he was more likely than not to miss the first Ashes Test in Perth next month and is not absolutely certain of being fit for the second in Brisbane.
South Africa spinner Prenelan Subrayen, who was reported for illegal bowling action in the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia last month, has been cleared by the ICC.
14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi set a new world record, taking his tally to 39 sixes in only 10 innings in Youth ODIs.
Cummins, who was previously optimistic of taking part in a significant chunk of the series, appears to have no chance of playing the series opener in Perth from November 21 and could even miss all five Tests, leaving superstar batter Steve Smith as his stand-in captain.
'He should be blooded into the senior team immediately, like Sachin was all those years ago.'
Aryna Sabalenka took a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.
The Aussies also named a 14-player group for the first two T20I matches against India, with Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis earning recalls after they missed the recent T20I series with South Africa.
Suryavanshi, Mhatre give India U19 unassailable 2-0 lead over Australia in Youth ODI series
Australian star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is hopeful of regaining fitness in time for the latter half of the upcoming T20 International series against India after undergoing surgery on his fractured right wrist.
Youth ODIs: Vedant, Rahul shine as India make clean sweep of series vs Australia
Smriti Mandhana's second-fastest hundred in women's ODIs went in vain as India's quest for a world-record chase in the series-deciding third game against Australia ended in a 43-run defeat, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Shafali, Bist make fifties as India Women A move ahead of Australia
Novak Djokovic said teaming up with Nick Kyrgios in the Brisbane International was going to be a fun experience as the 24-times Grand Slam winner arrived in the city on Saturday ahead of the Australian Open tune-up tournament.
Jay Shah met with top officials of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics organising committee to discuss the sport's potential inclusion in the Summer Games on Thursday.
Aus ODIs: Bumrah, Gill workload to be discussed, battle between Jaiswal and Abhishek
Rajinder made his senior debut in October last year during a two-match series against Germany, where he shone bright and eight months later, he became a key member of the Indian senior team.
Djokovic saved three breakpoints in stifling conditions to go 5-4 up but lost the opening set in a tough tiebreak as Opelka cranked up his serve
India will play three ODIs and five T20Is during their tour of Australia, starting on October 19.
Aryan Sharma and Yash Deshmukh were named in Australia's 15-member squad for the upcoming home series against India Under-19 team next month.
Batting stalwart Alyssa Healy has acknowledged that Australia will have to negotiate the spin challenge in a big way to stake claim to the World Cup for a record-extending eighth time in the Indian subcontinent.
Australia A skipper Tahlia McGrath was the pick of the bowlers with 3/49 in eight overs.
Rohit hinted that the 64-Test veteran could still play a part in the remainder of the five-Test series in Australia.
Having to sit out of Test matches on away tours "eventually got to me", says Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin of his abrupt international retirement in the middle of the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
There were speculations that Ashwin could enter the SA20 2026 auction, considering players retired from Indian cricket being eligible to participate in the overseas league
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances