India captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir have a few selection headaches to resolve when they pick the playing XI for the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, starting August 15. India are expected to go in with a spin-heavy bowling attack given the spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka. Gill and Gambhir also have to find an answer to the No. 6 position. Who will play between Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan? Will Gurnoor Brar or Saransh Jain make their Test debut? Here’s our India predicted XI for the first Test.
The Guarantees
Most of India’s batting and bowling core is fixed. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are almost certainly going to open, skipper Shubman Gill will slot in at No. 4, and wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant will be at No. 5.
Ravindra Jadeja is also expected to return as the primary all-rounder in the team, while Mohammed Siraj is set to lead the pace attack in Jasprit Bumrah‘s absence.
Given the spin-friendly conditions in Galle, Kuldeep Yadav‘s selection is also all but guaranteed.
Last among the certainties is Devdutt Padikkal at No. 3. Padikkal struck a century in India’s warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, and with Sai Sudharsan out injured, he has no direct competitor for this series.
The Dilemmas
India’s big dilemma in the batting order comes for the No. 6 spot. Dhruv Jurel has played most of India’s recent Tests, but Sarfaraz Khan’s re-inclusion in the squad has created a debate for the position. However, Jurel is the favourite to retain his position.
A combination of three spinners and two seamers seems more likely than four spinners and just one pacer. In that case, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar is likely to play, after a ‘Player of the Match’ performance on Test debut against Afghanistan in June. This would see veteran Saransh Jain miss out. However, the Gambhir-led team management making the bold call of playing all four spinners cannot be ruled out.
For the second pacer, Gill and Gambhir face a choice between Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi Dar. Ahead of the first Test, Gill admitted that it is a “tough call” between Prasidh and Gurnoor.
Gurnoor Brar impressed in his ODI outings, and was arguably better than Prasidh in India’s warm-up match. Gill praised the 26-year-old’s ability with the old ball. He also offers more with the bat.
As a result, Gurnoor may get the nod over Prasidh, and be in line for a maiden Test cap.
India predicted XI for 1st Test vs Sri Lanka: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.