Former India opener Aakash Chopra has predicted India’s playing XI for the first Test against England that will commence on Thursday, January 25 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
He expects India to field Axar Patel ahead of Kuldeep Yadav in their playing XI for the first Test against England. Axar Patel was the second-highest wicket-taker in the home series against England in 21 and took four five-wicket hauls in three games.
The two sides will square off in a five-match Test series starting on January 25. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav are the four spinners in India’s squad for the first two Tests.
India is likely to play three spinners in the Playing XI as the Hyderabad pitch will be a turning wicket that will help the spinners. Aakash Chopra has picked his Indian team ahead of the first Test between India and England.
Aakash Chopra opined that Axar Patel deserves a spot in the XI ahead of Kuldeep Yadav as the third spinner, saying, “What should be the team? Which three spinners should play? The heart says loudly to play Kuldeep Yadav because he is a wicket-taker but Axar Patel deserves to be in the playing XI. I feel the three spinners will be Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin.”
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and R Ashwin’s batting capabilities will allow the hosts to play a specialist wicketkeeper. He elaborated, “Interestingly, all three bat very well, especially in these conditions. So you have batters till No. 9. If you have such good batters, don’t expect too much batting for the keeper. If you get it, it’s good, but it’s not an issue if you don’t. Rahul Dravid has already said that KL Rahul won’t keep.”
Aakash Chopra Feels KL Rahul Will Bat At No.4 And KS Bharat Will Be The Wicketkeeper
Aakash Chopra reckons
KL Rahul might take Virat Kohli’s batting position at No.4 since the latter will be absent in the first two Tests. Srikar Bharat will be donning the wicketkeeping gloves. He stated,
“I feel you might see KL Rahul batting at No. 4 because Kohli isn’t there, and you can get KS Bharat to keep. You can play Ravindra Jadeja at No. 6 and Bharat at No. 7 or vice versa, that’s entirely up to you.” Virat Kohli has opted out of the first two Tests citing personal reasons. KS Bharat will likely play ahead of Dhruv Jurel after the former’s performance against England Lions where he scored a ton for India A.
He also has the experience of wicketkeeping on rank turners as he was the wicketkeeper in the Indian squad during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023.
While observing that Yashasvi Jaiswal will likely open with Rohit Sharma, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Virat Kohli’s absence will also allow Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer to play together in the XI.
He said, “Yashasvi is at the top of the batting order. Only two among Rahul, Shreyas, and Gill could have played had Virat been available but since he isn’t there, all three will play – Gill at No. 3, Rahul at No. 4, and Shreyas at No. 5, or Shreyas at No. 4 and Rahul at No. 5 – it doesn’t make a difference.”
India has included Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, and
Avesh Khan as the fast bowlers in the squad for the first two Tests. Bumrah and Siraj will likely be included in the playing XI to form the two-pronged pace attack for the first Test. Both the seamers were brilliant with the ball in South Africa and impressed everyone with their performance in the Cape Town Test.
Aakash Chopra’s Playing XI For The First Test Against England: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
