Mohammad Kaif Picks His India's Playing XI For The Edgbaston Test Against England

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif opted to go for a top-order without the likes of Shreyas Iyer, who was beginning to find his feet in the Indian Test playing XI, for the Edgbaston Test against England.

Kaif went with a top-order filled by the skipper, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Hanuma Vihari form the middle order that will need to fire in the one-off Test.

The former batter was also wary of the threat posed by the English team under the new captain and coach duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. They have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead over WTC Champions, New Zealand, in the 3-match Test series at home and are brimming with confidence.

“Pujara has been in fantastic form in England and I think he might get the opportunity to bat at No. 3 while Shreyas Iyer who hasn’t played an overseas Test match might have to wait for his chance. This is a very different England side.”

“The moment McCullum became the coach of this side, this team is playing attacking cricket, this team is chasing targets, they are not playing for a draw. The match that India won at Lord’s last year, that England team was bundled inside 50 overs, this is not that team. Root has been in fantastic form, so India will have to work hard, beating this England team won’t be that easy,” Kaif mentioned to India TV.

India is currently up by a 2-1 margin in the series. The fifth Test that was scheduled to be played last year in Manchester was called off after a covid scare in the Indian camp.

Mohammad Kaif’s playing XI for Edgbaston Test:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja/Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

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