India’s five-Test tour of England is slated to get underway on June 20 in Leeds.
The series marks the beginning of a new era for the Indian Test team under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, following the Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
For the opening combination, Shastri picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. He highlighted Rahul's experience and past success in England as key factors.
"It would be Jaiswal, and with him will be KL Rahul, because I think this is a big tour for him. He's the most experienced of the batsmen," said Shastri in an interaction with ICC Review.
"He opened last time when India toured England, got a hundred, and had a good tour. So I would hope for him to open the innings."
Shastri chose young left-hander Sai Sudarshan to bat at No. 3 spot, citing his impressive performances.
"Three, I'll go with the youngster, Sai Sudarshan. Whatever I've seen of him, he's very impressive. This will be good exposure for him, this tour," he explained.
Shastri slotted new captain Gill at N. 4, and backed Karun Nair and Rishabh Pant for No. 5 and No. 6 positions, respectively.
"In all probability, depending on what current form is, it'll be Karun Nair. He bats at five, it's a long time since he played for India. Six will be Pant," said the 63-year-old.
He further commented on Nair's inclusion, stating, "I think he has worked really hard. He's just worked his way back into the side. The number of runs he's got in first-last cricket is incredible. And I met him during an IPL game. I said, 'don't just bang the door. Just kick it down and make your way in and walk into that side'. And I think he's done just that. Just the number of runs that he's got has made the selectors look in that direction and give him a place."
Ravindra Jadeja features as a primary spinner in Shastri’s line-up, followed by three fast bowlers and an all-rounder. The former coach found it tough to choose between two seam-bowling all-rounders - Shardul Thakur and Nitish Reddy - for one spot in the team.
"I would go with three fast bowlers, plus Shardul Thakur. I know it'll be a tough one between Shardul and Nitish Reddy, but you have to see who bowls how much. If Reddy is going to give you 12, 14 overs, then he might get the nod because of his batting," Shastri remarked.
In the pace department, Shastri went with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah as certainties, with either Prasidh Krishna or Arshdeep Singh as the third option, depending on the conditions.
"And the three fast bowlers would be, I would go with Prasid Krishna, I would go with Mohammed Siraj and of course Jasprit Bumrah. In Leeds, if it's overcast and it's cloudy, there might be the temptation of going with the left-armer Ashdeep Singh as well. So it will be Prasad, Prasid Krishna/Ashdeep but the other two will be Siraj and Bumrah," he concluded.
Ravi Shastri's India XI for the first Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur/Nitish Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna/Arshdeep Singh