You Can't Bench Someone With 100 Tests - Wasim Jaffer Backs Ishant Sharma To Play Ahead Of Mohammed Siraj In WTC Final

Former India batsman Wasim Jaffer opines that although Mohammed Siraj has made a remarkable start to his Test career, excluding Ishant Sharma from the WTC final against New Zealand won’t be a wise move. The marquee clash is set to take place from June 18 in Southampton.

Virat Kohli and management will have a hard time fixing down the bowling combination for the mega-event, especially amongst the pacers.

For Wasim Jaffer, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are the first-choice seamers, and there could be jostling between Ishant and Siraj. However, he feels it would be difficult to leave out the senior pacer who has played over a 100 Test matches, albeit Siraj’s heroics in Australia.

“I feel the fast bowlers, especially Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, pick themselves. They are outstanding bowlers and then you have a choice between Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj who had a really good Test series against Australia,” Wasim Jaffer said in his YouTube video.

“But somewhere I feel like Ishant Sharma needs to play because he’s such an experienced bowler and he has played in England, he had a lot of success, got a seven-for in 2014. He bowls really well against left-handers and New Zealand has quite a few left-handers.

“Even though Siraj, on his recent form, you’ll be tempted to play him but I think Ishant Sharma needs to be picked ahead because you can’t bench someone with 100 Tests in the start,” he added.

I would definitely think about playing two spinners: Wasim Jaffer

Wasim Jaffer, who has 5 Tests tons to his name and a domestic legend with over 19,000 first-class runs, opines that both the spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, should feature in India’s eleven.

He points out that not only they are brilliant bowlers and will revel in conditions on the last couple of days of the Test, but they also add batting depth in the side. Wasim Jaffer is confident that Kohli and Ravi Shastri will go into the final with an “aggressive mindset” by picking 5 bowlers.

“I would definitely think about playing two spinners because both of them can bat so Jadeja will come at 7 and Ashwin at 8 and both have got Test hundreds. So you have that liberty of playing an off-spinner and a left-arm spinner. The ball will spin on fourth and fifth day and these guys will come in handy

“Knowing Ravi Shastri, Virat Kohli, they always go with an aggressive mindset, with the thinking of winning the Test, I am sure they will go with five bowlers,” the 43-year-old former batsman stated.

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