India vs England 2021: Wasim Jaffer picks India’s playing XI for first Test in Chennai
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Wasim Jaffer
The first Test between India and England is just 5 days away and the predictions, speculations and opinions have started to pour in ahead of the same. The Test will be held in Chennai from February 5 onwards and both sides will come into the game with massive confidence. India are coming off the back of a famous odds-defying series win against Australia while England have just whitewashed Sri Lanka in their own backyard.
The question that lies before India is regarding which players to pick for the first Test. A plethora of inexperienced players came into the XI against Australia due to injuries to their seniors and did their jobs to perfection. However, with the senior players now back, they are expected to draft back in. The turning pitch in Chennai also leads to questions as to whether India should go with 2 or 3 spinners and compromise on a pacer.
Wasim Jaffer picks Axar Patel over Washington Sundar
Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer picked his playing XI for the first Test against England and posted it on his official Twitter handle. His top 6 were pretty much what everybody would expect as he chose the same top and middle order that shone in the fourth Test in Australia with the exception of drafting Virat Kohli back in, in place of Mayank Agarwal.
In the bowling department, Jaffer went with Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah as sure-shot picks. The reason he gave for choosing the former ahead of Washington Sundar was that England have a huge weakness against left-arm spin. For the No. 9 player, Jaffer gave two options in Kuldeep Yadav as a third spin-bowling option or Shardul Thakur. For the second pacer, he again gave two options in the returning Ishant Sharma or Mohammed Siraj who came good in Australia.
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