The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the India cricket team’s squad for the England Test series. As expected, Shubman Gill has been named captain. Rishabh Pant will be his deputy. Two stalwarts of the game, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have retired, and their presence will be felt.
Rohit was India’s designated opener from 2019 onwards, while Kohli played at number four from 2013 until the end of his career. Replacing them won’t be easy. And certainly winning without them won’t be a piece of cake. Having lost their last two Test series, India would want to win.
India hasn’t won a Test series in England since 2007. Although the last tour ended in a draw, in the three before that, India won just 2 of the 15 matches. Captain Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir would like to continue the last tour’s trend, where India was ahead by 2-1.
What to expect in Leeds
In Australia, we saw India land the first punch in Perth. The series didn’t go India’s way, but there was a chance to win or draw it. England isn’t as strong as Australia. India has the required personnel to beat England in Leeds, the venue of the first Test. A County Championship match is underway even today.
14 wickets have fallen in the match between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire in just 105 overs. All the wickets have been taken by pacers. Now, in a month’s time, the pitches will dry a little and flatten out a bit. But pacers should be the main force there. Considering this, we can expect India to field just one spinner and four pacers.
Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair, only new additions
Yashasvi Jaiswal will be India’s first designated opener. KL Rahul will, in all likelihood, be the second opener, replacing Rohit. Sai Sudharsan will be at number three, and Gill will take over from Kohli at number four. Even if there is a change in batting positions, these four players will remain in the top four.
Realistically, Karun Nair is the only number five India has. He’s got experience playing in England as well, having represented Northamptonshire. Trying someone like Washington Sundar or Nitish Kumar Reddy at number five seems to be a risky gamble that India won’t likely take.
Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja have been India’s number six and seven for a while, and that will continue. Both have found success in England before as well at the same spots.
No place for Nitish Kumar Reddy
Nitish Reddy played at number 8 in Australia, but the move didn’t do well. Yes, he scored runs, but he bowled a mere 44 overs in 5 matches. The top and middle order failures saw him save India with a bat a few times, but in the end, wickets win you matches. And if Nitish bowls less than 5 overs per innings, like he did in Australia, one might as well not play him in England.
That’s why Shardul Thakur will play at number 8. He was perhaps the best player in the second half of the Ranji Trophy. He’s a swing bowler, which should work well in England. Three of his four Test match fifties have also come in England.
No Arshdeep Singh or Akash Deep
As for the frontline pacers, Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep will sit out. We know Jasprit Bumrah will play. Mohammed Siraj has also found success in England. And Prasidh Krishna will be picked because of his x-factor. He brings bounce and pace into the game and was great in the sole match he played in Australia.
India’s Predicted XI for 1st England Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal
KL Rahul
Sai Sudharsan
Shubman Gill (c)
Karun Nair
Rishabh Pant (wk & vc)
Ravindra Jadeja
Shardul Thakur
Jasprit Bumrah
Prasidh Krishna
Mohammed Siraj
Bench: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
The post Predicted India Playing XI for 1st England Test: Gill at Kohli’s No. 4 spot, no place for Nitish Reddy appeared first on Inside Sport India.