The World Test Championship (WTC) final is almost here. The two teams, India and New Zealand will fight for the trophy of the inaugural edition of WTC and the ICC Test Mace, from June 18 -22 at the Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton. Experts and former cricketers have been picking what looks like the best squad according to them.
Sanjay Manjrekar was the latest one of them all. The ex-cricketer turned commentator chose his Indian XI based on the assumption that the game would be played in typical English conditions, i.e. a mixture of sun and some cloudy cover through the five days of gameplay.
Starting with the openers, he picked Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma and continued with the batting order consisting of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane. One surprise pick, however, was the inclusion of Andhra Pradesh batsman Hanuma Vihari.
“I’m gonna have Hanuma Vihari to reward him for his brilliant innings [in the Sydney Test] before he got injured. India will need somebody with a little more of a compact defensive technique because the guys at the top of the order barring Cheteshwar Pujara aren’t those kinds. So I have Hanuma Vihari at no.6,” he said.
The dynamic southpaw, Rishabh Pant was the final batsman on the list. Manjrekar mentioned that the reason he picked these many batsmen is because of the fact that India has hardly had any practice games before the marquee clash. This ensures that the batting runs deep according to him.
Sanjay Manjrekar picks Mohammed Siraj ahead of Ishant Sharma
As expected, Manjrekar picked Ravichandran Ashwin based on the fact that the pitch would dry up at some point. He continued the list with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami filling out the pace attack.
“I’m assuming the pitch gets dry at some point in the Test match with the strong sun coming out. This would dry up the pitch quickly and the drainage system in England also has a tendency to dry out the pitches so I’ve got Ashwin at no.8, followed by Mohammad Shami at no.9 and Jasprit Bumrah at no.10,” Manjrekar assessed.
The final bowling option was a bit of a conundrum for Sanjay Manjrekar. Ishant Sharma has a lot of experience and has perhaps been India’s best bowler in the last couple of years. However, Manjrekar opined that Siraj who can swing the ball would be a good addition to increase the variety in the bowling attack.
“I just want Siraj the swing-bowler to be brought into the equation. The last time Siraj bowled overseas albeit in Australia, he got a five-wicket haul. So it’s hard to leave a bowler like him out because you’ll be tempted to think of Siraj as he can offer something different,” he concluded.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s Playing XI
Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj.