Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed his Indian playing XI for the first Test against Australia to be played in VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur from February 9 onwards. This will be the commencement of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 of which India are the holder.
This is one of the most awaited and hyped Test series as the no.1 ranked Test team Australia is clashing with no.2 ranked India and there is a spot in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 on the line as well.
India is missing the likes of Rishabh Pant for the whole series and Jasprit Bumrah for the first two Tests. There will also be selection calls on Rohit Sharma’s opening partner and for the no.5 spot as well.
Speaking on his first appearance on The ICC Review, Shastri made a few big calls when asked who he’d pick in India’s XI for the all-important opening matches of the series against Australia.
First, he claimed that India should go for a 4-0 series win.
“India should look to win 4-0, we’re playing at home. I’m brutal. I’ve been to two tours of Australia, I know what’s happened. My mindset would be, ‘How can I beat Australia 4-0 if I’m the coach’, which means day one, I want a ball to pitch on leg stump and hit off stump. I want it to rip,” he told host Sanjana Ganesan.
He didn’t pick a definite choice for Rohit Sharma’s opening partner while choosing Cheteshwar Pujara at no.3 and Virat Kohli at no.4. Making a huge call, he went with Suryakumar Yadav at the no.5 spot.
"Shubman or Rahul depends on the team management, what they think. Obviously, you'd want to go with what you've been doing in the past, but form becomes critical. You know, someone's hitting it real sweet and it's coming out of the centre of the bat. Then, you know, you wake up, and say, ‘listen’.
If it has to be Shubman ahead of Rahul, so be it. You know, straight. You have to see that. I won’t say that KL Rahul is the vice-captain so he becomes the automatic choice," Shastri said.
"At number five, Suryakumar (Yadav) will get the position, because there’s no Shreyas (Iyer). There’ll be talk about, 'can (Shubman) Gill bat at five?’ I think you need the right guy for the right number. At five, when you go there, especially if the ball is turning, then you need someone who is good at playing the right shots against spin. Surya demands that position. I think it’s straightforward,” Shastri said.
While talking about choosing the keeper between Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat, Shastri said: "If you know it's definitely going to turn, then I'll go for the best keeper. That’s what the team has to decide. I won't go, ‘who's a better batsman'. The team management can decide who is keeping the best, who they think, at that moment in time, is the best keeper. But my logic, my thinking, would be that.”
Shastri then chose Kuldeep Yadav to partner R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the spin department and picked Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami as the fast bowlers.
"I’d like to see some magic. I’d like to see some Kuldeep Yadav stuff. (Ravindra) Jadeja comes back into the side, it was always going to be between Jadeja or Axar (Patel). You can play both actually, if you want to strengthen your batting,” he said.
As for the pacers, Shastri said: “From what they have, I would think Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami. Umesh (Yadav) bowled well in Bangladesh, but since these two boys have been playing a lot together, they’re match fit, they’re in form (be it) white ball or red ball, they can play.”
Ravi Shastri’s predicted India XI for first Test in Nagpur:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill/KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KS Bharat/Ishan Kishan, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
(ICC inputs)
