The legendary India National Cricket Team batsman Sunil Gavaskar has demanded the selection of both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Sunil Gavaskar has opined that India will have to pick their best bowlers for the Test series opener in Perth and they not look too much into the behavior of the pitch.
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India likely to field only one spinner in the Perth Test
Multiple media outlets have reported that the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff have already locked in on India’s playing XI for the Perth Test against Australia.
Reportedly, Yashasvi Jaiswal will be opening with KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, and Dhruv Jurel will follow them in the batting order.
Also, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep/ Harshit Rana are likely to be the three frontline pacers, along with Ravichandran Ashwin as the sole spinner and Nitish Reddy as the pace-bowling all-rounder.
Notably, Nitish Reddy is yet to make his debut for the India National Cricket Team in Test cricket. Also, he has played just 23 matches and has scored 779 runs at an average of 21.05. With the ball, he has taken 56 first-class wickets.
In Ashwin and Jadeja, we have bowlers who have taken almost 900 wickets – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar, meanwhile, is not on the same page as Gautam Gambhir as he has demanded a massive change in the playing XI.
In an interaction with PTI, Sunil Gavaskar stated that Ashwin and Jadeja should definitely be part of the playing XI. This means that the legendary batter doesn’t want Nitish Reddy to be included in the playing XI.
“I believe that you have to pick your best bowlers for the Test match, never mind how the pitch will behave. In Ashwin and Jadeja, we have bowlers who have taken almost 900 wickets between them. They also have between them more than half a dozen Test centuries under their belts,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
Sunil Gavaskar acknowledged that there is a high possibility of the spinners not getting much assistance from the surface but added that the duo can use their experience to get success.
“Even if they may not get much help from the pitch, they can, with their skill and experience slow down the scoring and exert pressure on the batters,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
The three are pretty much clear I think; Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep – Zaheer Khan
The legendary pacer Zaheer Khan also talked about the playing XI of India for the Perth Test and said that Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj will be the three pacers.
Zaheer Khan further said that one among Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy will be the fourth pace-bowling option. He said on Cricbuzz:
“The three are pretty much clear I think; Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep. Those three seamers are going to be there, the fourth is going to be an interesting one, whether you go in with Harshit Rana or you take Nitish Reddy’s route, increasing that batting depth is something which they will be looking at.”
