Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur will be fighting for the fifth bowler’s spot in Indian national cricket team ‘s test team for the upcoming Australia tour. In all likelihood, Axar Patel can also be considered.
Siraj or Thakur?
Sunil Joshi-led BCCI selection committee for men in all possibility going to announce a jumbo squad for Indian national cricket team’s upcoming tour to Down Under. Indian cricket is scheduled to play all three formats of cricket in Australia starting with T20Is. But two senior pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma are not be available for the same due to injuries. Navdeep Saini will be the pacer along with Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Umesh Yadav.
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When it comes to the fifth pacer’s slot in Test matches there can eb a healthy fight between Mohamed Siraj and Shardul Thakur. Siraj had a forgettable Test debut against West Indies when he suffered from a muscle pull while bowling his first over. But he has done well in the longer version for India A and Ranji Trophy as well. On the other hand, Thakur who looks to make a certain space in the white-ball format can put Siraj in a contest even for the red-ball format. Umesh Yadav is unlikely to find a place in limited-overs with Thakur and Deepak Chahar making it to the cut.
Axar Patel and Shivam Dube
Axar Patel’s performance in Indian Premier League may not unnoticed also. With Hardik Pandya yet to be match-fit, Shivam Dube maybe the back-up all-rounder for Indian national cricket team’s limited-overs games in Australia. When it comes to the keeper’s slot, KL Rahul will be the first choice in limited-overs format with Rishabh Pant (all formats) and Sanju Samson (only T20s) also joining him. Wriddhiman Saha will be picked for the Tests, as usual.
The tentative schedule suggests that the tour will open with limited-overs matches in November followed by the Test series beginning from mid-December.
Likely squad (all formats): Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (VC, white ball), Ajinkya Rahane (VC, Tests), Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel and Mohammed Siraj.
