"I feel Ashwin should play"- Harbhajan Singh picks veteran off-spinner over Shardul Thakur in India's XI for 1st Test against SA

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the visitors should opt for Ravichandran Ashwin at No. 8 instead of seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur against South Africa.

India will face the Proteas in a two-match Test series, starting at the SuperSport Park Stadium on Boxing Day (December 26).

In overseas conditions, the Asian giants have generally backed their five-bowler theory with three pacers, a spinning all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja and Thakur. However, Mohammed Shami is unavailable and Prasidh Krishna is likely to replace him in the XI. Hence, Harbhajan feels the visitors need batting depth which Ashwin could provide better.

On his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh also explained why he felt Ravichandran Ashwin could get more out of the wicket than Shardul Thakur. He said:

"According to me Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open. Shubman Gill would come in at number three and the fourth spot will be for Virat Kohli. The fifth and sixth spots belong to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul respectively.

"For number seven Ravindra Jadeja but the biggest question comes at number 8 with Ashwin and Shardul available. I feel Ashwin should play at number 8 because you have Jasprit Bumrah for number 9, Siraj for 10 and Prasidh Krishna for 11."

Harbhajan Singh added:

"But here I feel the conditions will be hot, the pitch will be hard, the bounce will be there and you have three pacers so I think India should go with two spinners. I feel South Africa would love to place pace so I think you should play on your strengths. I feel Ashwin should play but I don't see that happening."

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Decision to play Shardul Thakur over Ashwin in WTC final was right: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh still backed his statement during the WTC final 2023 that India made the right decision by benching Ashwin over Thakur against Australia. He explained how conditions were different in England than they are in South Africa, which warranted a spot for the seaming all-rounder.

On this, Harbhajan said:

"The biggest debate is whether Shardul should play or Ashwin, this topic became a heated discussion during the World Test Championship. The conditions there were different because the ball seams on Day 1 so I feel Shardul was the right choice according to those conditions. There was a lot of grass on the wicket, even though he couldn't make an impact I feel the decision was right."

With rain forecast on Day 1 of the first Test at Centurion, it is unlikely that India would go in with two spinners.