Former India National Cricket Team player Robin Uthappa has named his preferred India playing XI for the first Test against the England National Cricket Team.
Robin Uthappa has surprisingly snubbed the star left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav from his playing XI for the Test between India and England, which will begin on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds.
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Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan picked in the India playing XI
The top four picked by Uthappa were along the expected lines as he named KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, followed by Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill at No.3 and No.4.
At No.5, the former cricketer picked the comeback man Karun Nair, who recently slammed a double century in the match against the England Lions, and Rishabh Pant was slotted at No.6. During a discussion on the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan,’ Robin Uthappa said:
“For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. With the kind of success he has gotten there, with just the way he batted in Australia, and the way he has batted in the past in England augurs well for India to get him to open the batting,” he said.
“At No. 3, I would love to see someone like Sai Sudharsan because of how technically right he is, and the potential he possesses as what we feel and believe he can do and achieve in Test cricket. No. 4, Shubman Gill for sure. My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there. No. 6 – Rishabh Pant, I love him at No. 6. I think that’s his sweet spot.”
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja selected as all-rounders by Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa further selected Nitish Kumar Reddy as the fast-bowling all-rounder over Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner over Kuldeep Yadav. He said:
“At No. 7, I will have Nitish Kumar Reddy because he is a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, your fourth fast-bowling option. I will have Jadeja. Again, increased depth, scores runs, and has scored runs in England as well in Test cricket. So I will have him at No. 8.”
The three frontline pacers in Robin Uthappa’s team are Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj. However, the exclusion of Kuldeep Yadav comes as a major surprise, as many experts have backed him to be India’s X-factor in the Test series against England.
Kuldeep Yadav has played just 13 Test matches for India and has picked up 56 wickets, and in the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin, he has a chance to regularly feature in the playing XI to establish himself as a match-winner.
Robin Uthappa’s India playing XI 1st Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
