As India gear up to face South Africa in the first Test on Sunday, the think tank would face a dilemma of figuring out the perfect XI. Virat Kohli and his men are eyeing to register their first-ever Test series win in the Rainbow Nation. India have had a terrific run in the longest format of the game this year. They defeated Australia to clinch the Border Gavaskar Trophy and dominated England in their own backyard. And now, it’s time to challenge the Proteas and script history.
The fans are eagerly waiting to find out the playing XI for the opening Test in Centurion. Meanwhile, former India batsman Wasim Jaffer has named his team for the series opener. The duo of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have found the spot in top of the order while Cheteshwar Pujara continues to be at no. 3 despite his poor form.
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Speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer said, “There has been a lot of debate about Ajinkya Rahane. Whether he should play, whether he should not play? There’s Hanuma Vihari waiting in the benches. In my opinion, however, he should play as he has been there and has even done well.”
Jaffer picked Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the pace department. Veteran speedster Ishant Sharma, alongside Hanuma Vihari, was another notable omission.
South Africa is the only country where India is yet to win a Test series. The visitors have played 7 series in the Rainbow nation and lost 6 of them, while one ended in a draw. Team India have won only three games so far and look forward to improving their past record.
Wasim Jaffer’s India’s playing XI : Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
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