South Africa vs India: India’s predicted playing XI for the first Test

Team India will chase history as they take on South Africa in the first Test of the three-match series. The encounter, which is a Boxing Day clash, gets underway on December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Notably, the rainbow nation is the only country where India are yet to record a Test series win. Hence, Virat Kohli’s men would be raring to make a mark.

Meanwhile, India’s first task would be finalizing a potent playing XI. As the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel are injured, Team India would be missing out on several key players. However, there are still several players in the squad who are fighting for a place in the XI. Hence, it would be interesting to see how India’s line-up would look like in Centurion.

Meanwhile, here’s the predicted Playing XI of India’s clash for 1st South Africa Test:  

Openers – Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul

With Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma being unavailable, the team management won’t have any issue in identifying India’s opening combination. Rahul, who has been elevated as India’s vice-captain, is set to open the innings and his Karnataka teammate Mayank Agarwal will accompany him. Both batters have done well at the international arena and would like to make a mark.

Having scored 150 against New Zealand in the Mumbai Test, Agarwal would be high on confidence. On the other hand, Rahul gave the New Zealand series a miss due to injury concerns. However, he was impressive tackling the new red cherry in England earlier this year. With the added responsibility to leadership being on his shoulders, Rahul will be a player to watch out for.

Middle-Order – Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer

Despite being short of runs lately, Cheteshwar Pujara is likely to retain his number-three spot as India are short of options for that position. However, he has to make his bat talk to justify his place in the team. Skipper of the team, Virat Kohli will come out to bat at number four.

With the captaincy controversy causing a lot of hullaballoo in Indian cricket, it would be interesting to see how the 33-year-old does with the bat. The biggest dilemma would be picking the number five batter with Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane being in contention. While Rahane is a veteran, Iyer might get the nod for that position as he slammed a ton on Test debut against the Kiwis.

Wicket-keeper and all-rounder: Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin

Pant is set to take the gloves and he’ll also come out to bat at number six. Having done well in Australia earlier this year, Pant has proven his ability in overseas conditions. Hence, Proteas bowlers must beware of him. As Virat Kohli has been endorsing the five bowling options policy, India is unlikely to go with six specialist batters.

Hence, Ravichandran Ashwin, who has five Test centuries under his belt, will bat at number seven. As Ravindra Jadeja has done well with the bat at that position, Ashwin will have massive shoes to fill.

Bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj

The last four spots will be occupied by bowlers. Shardul Thakur will come out to bat at number eight, having done exceedingly well in the longest format this year. His presence will also strengthen the batting department. Needless to mention, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are vital cogs of this bowling attack.

The remaining spot will be occupied by Mohammed Siraj, who has made a sensational star to his Test career. His exploits against Australia, England and New Zealand has somewhat made him a clear pick ahead of veteran pacer Ishant Sharma, who has over 100 Tests under his belt.

India’s Probable Playing XI for 1st Test: Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah