India Playing 11 for England's Headingley Test picked, Ravindra Jadeja OUT

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Bangar has revealed his playing XI for India for the first Test against England, which will get underway on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. Sanjay Bangar’s playing XI has not only surprising twists but also the batting order.

Bangar picked Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers while handing the big responsibility to bat at number three to Abhimanyu Easwaran against England. India’s newly appointed captain, Shubman Gill, has been drafted at number four by Bangar, with the vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant coming at his usual number 5 batting position.

Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur left out in Sanjay Bangar’s bold XI for the first Test against England

Now, it’s time for the real twist, as he picked Karun Nair as well for his team. Karun Nair, who made a comeback to the Indian Test side after nearly eight years on the back of his remarkable domestic performance, is a top-order batter, and Bangar wants the tourists to play him at the number six position, followed by the young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy at number seven.

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Well, the former Indian batting coach has shockingly overlooked the experienced all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur in his starting XI for the five-match Test series opener against England. He also explained reason behind his move.

Sanjay Bangar wants Karun Nair to bat at No.6!!

In the spin department, Sanjay Bangar has picked only spin specialist Kuldeep Yadav, while his pace attack is comprised of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah. Bangar preferred Nitish Kumar Reddy over Shardul Thakur, citing Reddy’s stronger batting abilities.

Sanjay Bangar said on the Star Sports ‘Game Plan’ show, “My team is Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran at No. 3, Shubman Gill at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5, Karun Nair at No. 6, Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 7, Kuldeep Yadav at No. 8, and then three seamers—Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.”

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Sanjay Bangar explains Kuldeep Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy's selection ahead of Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur

Explaining Nitish Kumar Reddy’s selection ahead of Shardul Thakur, Bangar noted, “I see Nitish as a batter who can bowl. I can't see him as a bowler who can bat. However, Nitish starts in my team ahead of Shardul. Shardul doesn't play in my first XI. Nitish Reddy will play first.”

Nitish has scored 298 runs and taken five wickets in five Tests, showing promise as a batting all-rounder. In contrast, Shardul has 331 runs and 31 wickets from 11 tests, and he has a good record in England but still failed to make the cut to the former batting coach’s XI.

The former RCB and PBKS coach also shared why he went with Kuldeep Yadav ahead of the experienced Ravindra Jadeja. Bangar signed off by saying, “It will be a condition-based call on whether you would play one spinner or two spinners. Whenever the Indian team wants to play one spinner on this tour, I feel it should be Kuldeep Yadav because there is a huge question about the fitness of your trump card, Jasprit Bumrah.”

Sanjay Bangar’s India XI for the Headingley Test against England:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah.

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