Legendary Indian National Cricket Team batsman Sunil Gavaskar has demanded that both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja be selected in the match for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Sunil Gavaskar has said that India will have to pick their best bowlers for the opening Test series in Perth and will not look too much at the behavior of the pitch.
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India are likely to field just one spinner in the Perth Test
Many media outlets have reported that the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff has already finalized India’s playing XI for the Perth Test against Australia.
Yashasvi Jaiswal will reportedly open with KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel.
Also, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep/Harshit Rana will form the front three along with Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone spinner and Nitish Reddy as the pace-bowling all-rounder.
It should be noted that Nitish Reddy is yet to make his Test cricket debut for the Indian National Cricket Team. Also, he played just 23 matches and scored 779 runs at an average of 21.05. With the ball, he took 56 first-class wickets.
In Ashwin and Jadeja, we almost have 900-run bowlers – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar, meanwhile, is not on the same page as Gautam Gambhir as he 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 batsman does not want Nitish Reddy in the playing XI.
“I believe you should pick your best bowlers for a Test match, never mind how the pitch behaves. We have close to 900 wickets in Ashwin and Jadeja. They have more than half a wicket between them. Dozens of Test centuries under their belts,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar admitted that the spinners are unlikely to get much help from the surface, but added that the duo can use their experience to succeed.
“Although they don’t get much help from the field, they can slow down the score with their skill and experience and put pressure on the batsmen,” added Sunil Gavaskar.
I think three are pretty obvious; Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep – Zaheer Khan
Legendary pacer Zaheer Khan also spoke about India’s XI for the Perth Test and said that Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj will be the three pacers.
Zaheer Khan then said that one of Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy would be the fourth pace bowling option. He said on Cricbuzz:
“I think three are pretty clear; Bumrah, Siraj and Akash Deep. Those three seamers will be there and the fourth one will be interesting, whether you go with Harshit Rana or Nitish Reddy’s route, adding depth to the batting is something they will look at.”
