Former India cricketer Wasim Jafferhas predicted India's playing XI for the first Test against West Indies starting from July 12 (Wednesday). Team India is playing after a gap of one month and all eyes are on the players picked for the Caribbean tour. The Indian team will be without their number three Cheteshwar Pujara as he has been dropped following low returns at the position while veteran pacer Mohammed Shami has been rested.
As far as Jaffer's playing XI is concerned, he has handed debut to three players which is surprising. According to him, Ishan Kishan will pip KS Bharat for the wicketkeeeper's slot in the opening Test and Mukesh Kumar will get a go. Bharat hasn't been great with the bat so far in five Tests he has played in including the WTC Final. Yashasvi Jaiswal is another debutant in Jaffer's XI and the same has been confirmed by skipper Rohit Sharma as well. However, it remains to be seen if Kishan and Mukesh will get an opportunity to showcase their skills in red-ball cricket.
Moreover, Shubman Gill is set to bat at number three and is expected to move down to number four in future. Apart from Mukesh Kumar, Wasim Jaffer's XI has the bowling attack comprising Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj and Jaydev Unadkat. Interestingly, Jaffer hasn't picked Shardul Thakur who fared well in the World Test Champions Trophy (WTC) Final.
India skipper Rohit Sharma has also hinted at going into the first Test match against West Indies with two spinners and three pacers. However, he didn't reveal any names keeping his cards close to his chest.
Wasim Jaffer's Playing XI for first Test vs West Indies: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat
