With a week left for the first of the five-match Test series, the Indian think tank have a huge headache to cure. Since Rohit Sharma’s participation in the first Test is under dark clouds, the think tank will have to come out with a filler for the series opener. With Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul as the likely nominees, a few pundits have opinionated on utilizing Shubman Gill atop. Along these terms, former Indian coach who guided India’s previous BGT (away) triumph Ravi Shastri predicted the Men in Blue’s playing XI with a couple of surprises.
As per Shastri, India should open with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill at the top of the order with KL Rahul batting at no. 3. Without a doubt, this came as a surprise to many as Rahul was seen trialing for the opener’s spot along with Easwaran during the second unofficial Test against Australia A. Gill opened in the last couple of Tests against Australia in Sydney and Gabba where the Men in Blue performed out of their skins under Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership.
While Shastri’s middle order is stacked with regulars in Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, and Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar, he suggested the inclusion of Nitish Kumar Reddy over Ravichandran Ashwin. Perth is known for its pace and bounce and Nitish’s inclusion would add luxury in the pace department along with batting depth. The other three pacers were Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep.
Ravi Shastri’s predicted XI: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
