After beating West Indies 2-0 in their own backyard, Virat Kohli and his men are set to kick start their home season with a three-match series against New Zealand at Kanpur on 22nd September. The outcome of this series is very crucial because India will take on England and Australia later this season, as they look to regain the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings.
The selectors have announced a 15 member squad for the series and it includes all the players who took the field against West Indies. Finalising the playing XI will be a huge headache for the team management as they have several players fighting for just one spot. Let us take a look at how the Indian team will line-up when they take on the Kiwis in the first test at Kanpur:
Squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Shikhar Dhawan, Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Openers
In the last couple of years, Murali Vijay has been India’s consistent batsman in the longer format. Though he played just one match in the series against West Indies, he is certain to make it to the playing XI that will take the field against New Zealand in the first test at Kanpur.
Alongside Murali Vijay, there are two other openers in the squad. Shikhar Dhawan has been Vijay’s partner for a while now but he has been highly inconsistent opening the batting for India in tests.
On the other hand, KL Rahul has been a revelation since making his debut against Australia in 2014. In spite of scoring a century against the Aussies at Sydney, his place in the squad was not certain, but his heroics in 2016 has made sure that dropping Rahul from the team will not be the right thing to do.
In all likelihood, the team management will prefer to open with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul against the Kiwis.
Middle order
Skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, along with wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha have sealed their place in India’s middle order. The rest of the middle order depends on the team combination. If the team management decides to go in with 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers, then both Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara will find themselves a place in the playing XI.
If the combination is 6 batsmen and 5 bowlers, then it will be either Cheteshwar Pujara or Rohit Sharma who will make it to the playing XI. Rohit Sharma is one of the best batsmen in the world when it comes to the limited-overs format, but in the longer version of the game, the same cannot be said of the Mumbaikar.
He was been very inconsistent in the test arena but the selectors have backed him, citing the fact that he hardly got chances in the longer run and it will be a blunder to drop a batsman like Rohit without giving him a proper chance. In the West Indies, skipper Kohli preferred Sharma in the XI ahead of Pujara, but it is unlikely that the team management will do the same in the series against New Zealand.
Cheteshwar Pujara has been in a stunning form in the Duleep Trophy. After scoring 166 and 31 in the last round-robin match, he made it big in the finals and scored an unbeaten 256 and helped his team put on 693-6 in their first innings.
Taking current form into perspective, Pujara will get the nod ahead of Rohit Sharma to bat at No. 3 followed by skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya at no.4 and 5.
Spinners
No one is better than Ravichandran Ashwin on the sub-continent tracks and has taken a lot of wickets in this part of the world. He is a certainty in the playing XI and will lead India’s bowling against the Kiwis. His fellow spinner is a spot which is up for grabs.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra are the other two spinners in the fray and if the team management decides to go in with a 6-5 combination, both Mishra and Jadeja will play at the expense of Rohit. If only four bowlers are chosen to play, then only two spinners will get into the XI.
Amit Mishra is a veteran bowler in these conditions and has done well whenever he has got a chance. Even with the bat, Mishra has added some value to the team. On the other hand, Jadeja has an extraordinary record at home in the two series (against Australia and South Africa) he has played so far.
Mishra has taken 32 wickets from 10 matches in India at an average of over 37 but, Jadeja’s numbers at home look much better as he has accounted for 50 wickets from just 9 matches at an impressive average of 15.70.
In all likelihood, Jadeja will accompany Ashwin in the spin department when the Indian team take on Kane Williamson and co. After a great series against West Indies with the bat, R Ashwin is expected to bat above Saha.
Pacers
It is certain that there will be only two pacers in the playing XI irrespective of the playing combination. India's senior most bowler, Ishant Sharma, was expected to be the pace spearhead against New Zealand, but after being ruled out of the first test due to chikungunya. His absence will be huge concern for the team management. Mohammad Shami, was the favourite to share the new ball with Ishant, but an injurt to the latter makes things difficult for the team.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled well in the third test against West Indies and took a crucial five-wicket haul that changed the match in India’s favour. Umesh Yadav has been very inconsistent in the longer version as he errs with the line and eases the pressure off the batsmen.
Ever since coming back from injury, Shami has been sensational in both the tests and T20Is against Windies and, given his record in Test matches in India, there is no doubt that Shami will be taking the field against the Kiwis. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is likely to share the new ball with Shami in the absence of Ishant.
The final line-up
As mentioned earlier, a lot depends on the team combination. Ten out of the 11 spots are already occupied, with Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra fighting for the remaining one spot.
With R Ashwin batting at no. 6, it allows the team management to go in with an extra bowler and it is highly likely that it will be the case against New Zealand in the first test too.
So, Amit Mishra might just get into the squad ahead of Rohit Sharma.
Probable Playing XI: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami.
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