ICC World Cup 2019: VVS Laxman Names His Playing XI For the Match Against South Africa

Former Indian National Cricket Team player VVS Laxman has gone with four specialist bowlers in his playing XI for the tournament opener against South Africa on June 5 at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground in Southampton. Meanwhile, India completed their preparations in style crushing Bangladesh by 95 runs in the second warm-up game at Cardiff. The Men in Blues will get a six-days off to be ready before they begin their campaign in the ICC World Cup 2019.

Laxman reveals his playing XI against South Africa

The cricketer turned commentator opted Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma as his opening pair followed by skipper Virat Kohli at three. Dhawan and Rohit need to pull up their socks if India want to go deep in this tournament. On the other hand, Kohli has got starts but has failed to capitalise on those starts. The top three will have to score big if the second-ranked ODI side wants to post mammoth totals on the board. KL Rahul, meanwhile, has sealed the no four spot with a dashing century against Bangladesh and made into Laxman’s playing XI. There have been a lot of debates with this position and Rahul looks to have finally sealed the berth.

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MS Dhoni, after his vintage knock in the second warm-up match, will bat a five followed by all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. Kedar Jadhav has still not recovered from fully from injury and will have to sit on the sidelines. Pandya and Jadeja have shown their abilities in the two games leading to the World Cup and have made their way in VVS Laxman’s playing XI.

Two spinners and two fast bowlers will complete Laxman’s XI. While Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were the obvious choices, Mohammed Shami pipped Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make it into the playing XI. The combination looks best-suited for the wickets in England as it will provide depth to the batting order.

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VVS Laxman’s Predicted XI for the World Cup

Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal