IND vs WI: Harbhajan Singh Picks India's Playing XI For West Indies First Test

Published - 11 Jul 2023, 03:00 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM

Harbhajan Singh Photo Credit: (Twitter)

Former spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed his India XI for the upcoming first Test against West Indies. More than a month after losing the World Test Championship final last month, Team India will return to action with the first Test of the two-match series against the Caribbean outfit.

India have several new faces in the Test squad and it will be very interesting to see the team combination as Rohit Sharma & Co. begin their campaign in the third cycle of the WTC. Following the loss in the WTC final, the selectors dropped veteran batsman Cheteshwar Pujara from the squad while including uncapped Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

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The selectors have also rested Mohammed Shami and have recalled Navdeep Saini in addition to giving Mukesh Kumar his maiden Test call-up. With Pujara not in the team, India are set to have a new batsman at number three while the bowling attack will also have a new look.

Harbhajan Singh’s India XI for 1st Test against West Indies:

While only time will tell India’s playing XI for the first Test against West Indies, Harbhajan Singh has revealed his pick. The former India spin spearhead has made some surprising calls like not picking Shardul Thakur in the team despite the allrounder’s impressive performance with both bat and ball in the WTC final.

He has also not included spin-bowling allrounder Axar Patel in his team. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan picked Jaiswal at number three while stating that Shubman Gill should continue opening with Rohit Sharma. For the number 4 and 5 spot, he picked Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane respectively.

“According to me, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill should open and Yashasvi Jaiswal should play at No. 3. A lot of people were saying that Yashasvi should be made to open and Shubman should be played down the order – I don’t think so because Shubman has made it his own place,” said Harbhajan.

“He (Gill) has got that position based on his performance. So his position should not be touched. I will play Yashasvi at No. 3. I hope he makes his debut and scores a lot of runs. He is a very good player. After that, Virat Kohli will play at No. 4 and Ajinkya Rahane will play at No. 5,” he added.

For the allrounders and bowlers’ spots, Harbhajan picked Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat and uncapped Mukesh Kumar. He also mentioned Unadkat’s fine record in domestic circuit and stated that the left-arm pacer deserves opportunities.

“Ravindra Jadeja at No. 6, R Ashwin or KS Bharat at No. 7. If Ashwin bats at No. 7, then KS Bharat at No. 8. Then I will see Mohammed Siraj at No. 9. Along with him, I will see Jaydev Unadkat because he has been performing in domestic cricket for a long time and he hasn’t got many opportunities.”

“So I hope he gets an opportunity to play there and he shows what he can do. So I will keep Unadkat in the team and at No. 11, I will keep Mukesh Kumar. He has also performed extremely well in the Ranji Trophy due to which he has got a chance to show his prowess in the Indian team,” he said.

Harbhajan Singh’s Indian XI for the 1st Test:

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikar Bharat, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar