India v South Africa 2019: Likely first-team eleven for the hosts in the first Test

Team India is scheduled to play T20I and Test series of three matches each against South Africa from 15 September. The Proteas have not won a Test series on Indian soil after their only Test series triumph in India under Hansie Cronje back in 2000. India, who remained invincible during their last tour to West Indies, will be on high confidence. The youngster - Shubman Gill - has been rewarded with a place in the senior team for churning-out runs a consistent basis in the domestic circuit.

KL Rahul has been dropped because of poor returns despite being given a long run. Umesh Yadav, who bagged a 10-wicket haul in India's last home match, is left out of the squad. The Indian squad for the Test series is given below –

India's squad for 3 Tests: Virat Kohli (Capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill

In this article, we will take a look at the playing XI which India may field in the first Test match.

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#1. Top-order (Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara)

Rohit Sharma will open in Tests for the first time in his career.

Mayank Agarwal, the opening batsman, was awarded a spot in the Indian team in December 2018 for scoring a mountain of runs in the domestic circuit. Agarwal, who came as a replacement for Prithvi Shaw during the Australian tour, is being looked at as a long-term prospect now. The 28-year-old batsman from Karnataka has scored three fifties in just seven innings, he has only played away from home – in Australia and West Indies.

“Want to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to open the innings in Tests,” are the words of chief selector MSK Prasad on selecting Rohit Sharma as an opener for the Test series.

India’s squad for 3 Tests: Virat Kohli (Capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk),Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 12, 2019

India has had opening woes in the longest format of the game. And, they gambled with a white-ball specialist to solve their opening conundrum. Rohit, who made his Test debut in 2013, has represented India in 27 Tests and has an average of over 39 with three centuries to his name. The 32-year-old batsman is yet to cement his spot in the Test team permanently and will look to get big runs under his belt.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who was in the form of his life during the Australian series, didn’t have a good time in the series against West Indies as he could manage to achieve an aggregate of just 60 runs in four innings. The 31-year-old batsman is one of India’s batting pillars, especially at home, where he averages about 62 with 10 tons and 14 fifties.

The right-handed batsman from Gujarat averages just 33.36 against South Africa in India, which is the lowest against any nation at home (minimum two innings). Thus, Pujara will try to improve his record against South Africa and also to contribute significantly to his team.

Also see – World Test Championship Schedule

#2. Middle-order (Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant)

Captain Virat Kohli.

Virat Kohli, who is hailed as the best batsman of this generation, has not been at his best in the pinnacle form of the game in 2019. The Indian captain averages about 31 with only two half-centuries in three matches this year, which is way too low for his standards. The 30-year-old is the best batsman of his team and will surely look to get runs and end his century drought in Test cricket.

The vice-captain of the Indian test team, Ajinkya Rahane was in good form in the last series, in which he scored a century and ended his two-year century drought.

Averaging more than 90, the 31-year-old batsman accumulated 271 runs with one century and two fifties in the Caribbean. The Maharashtra-born player has not been at his very best in the last two years, but has had breakthrough series and will look to carry on the good form.

Rishabh Pant, the attacking batsman, has been under scanner recently for his shot selection. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman scored hundreds against potent bowling attacks of England and Australia in their backyard but didn’t have best of the times in West Indies where he scored just 58 runs in the Test series. The left-handed batsman averaged exactly 92 with two 90+ scores in his last and only home series.

#3. All-Rounders (Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin)

Ravichandran Ashwin.

Hanuma Vihari, who was preferred over Rohit Sharma against West Indies, had a point to prove and he did prove himself in the perfect way possible. The batting all-rounder from Andhra Pradesh was the leading run-scorer against Jason Holder’s army and has made his case stronger to get a long run.

The 25-year-old batsman amassed 289 runs with an incredible average of over 96 in the two-match Test series. Hanuma Vihari is a three-dimensional player who can also bowl off-spin if required.

The third-best Test all-rounder in the world at the moment, Ravindra Jadeja, seems to have sealed a permanent slot in the Test team. The 30-year-old all-rounder has improved his batting in this format and is a good spinner to have in the side, especially on Indian decks. The southpaw from Saurashtra averages over 34 with the willow and has scalped 144 wickets in India. The left-arm spinner was the second-highest wicket-taker (23) against the Proteas when the latter toured India the last time.

The spin-bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin who could not find a place in the team in the last series, is still a sure starter at home. The 32-year-old player averages about 30 with the bat and has picked up 234 wickets on the Indian pitches. The experienced off-spinner from Chennai is currently having a good time for Nottinghamshire in the county season. Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker against South Africa in the “Freedom Series” of 2015.

#4. Bowlers (Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah)

Ishant Sharma.

Ishant Sharma, who has been the workhorse of the Indian pace attack in recent years is expected to feature in the side for the first Test at Visakhapatnam. Since 2018, the right-arm pacer has scalped 52 wickets in just 13 matches, with an average of less than 20. However, the 31-year-old paceman has not tasted a lot of success in India, where he has got just 84 wickets in 61 innings. The Delhi-born bowler will look to improve his mediocre record in India.

Last but not least, it is Jasprit Bumrah in this list. The 25-year-old paceman, who has already achieved great heights in his short career, will lead the Indian bowling attack in this series. The right-arm fast bowler has picked up a five-wicket haul in each country he has played in but has new challenges to face ahead. This series will be the first home series of Bumrah in red-ball cricket and he will have to bowl in non-pacer friendly conditions.

The Ahemdabad-born Bumrah has got everything in his armory as a bowler and should taste fair success even on Indian pitches. Since 2018, the number three Test bowler in the world has picked up 62 wickets in the traditional form of the game, which is the highest for any Indian bowler in this period.