Former Indian national cricket team wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel has selected the home team’s playing eleven for the first Test match of the upcoming series against the South Africa national cricket team.
Parthiv Patel also discussed whether Dhruv Jurel will get a chance to play against the Proteas amid his sensational form in red-ball cricket.
There will be only one question for India and that will be at number 6- Parthiv Patel
The Men in Blue recently concluded their tour of Australia, which consisted of a three-match ODI series and a five-match T20I series.
Shubman Gill-led India lost the ODI series 1-2, but continued their dominance in T20I cricket with a 2-1 win over Mitchell Marsh and Co. after two matches were washed out due to rain.
Their next challenge is the home Test series against reigning ICC World Test champions South Africa, who will come in with better preparation for the matches after the all-format tour of Pakistan.
The Shubman Gill-led team and the Temba Bavuma-led team will meet at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the opening match of the Test series from November 14. Parthiv Patel chose the playing eleven of the host team for the first test during a discussion on Star Sports. He said:
Parthiv said, “Yashaswi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will open. Sai Sudarshan will be at No. 3, Shubman Gill at No. 4 and then you will see Rishabh Pant playing at No. 5. The No. 6 position is a bit difficult. Otherwise, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.”
“There will be only one question for India and that is at No. 6, whether you want to play Nitish Reddy or Dhruv Jurel. It will be an early start in Kolkata. So can Nitish Reddy play the third seamer? Then you can use Nitish Reddy with two seamers, and three spinners will come in the second innings,” he said.
I think Dhruv Jurel has done enough to be considered as a batsman in the Test team – Parthiv Patel
Dhruv Jurel is Rishabh Pant’s disciple in the Test team, but he has made quite a splash with the bat with his extraordinary performances in red-ball cricket, which has led to calls for his selection as a pure batsman.
The scores in his last eight first-class innings read – 140, 1, 56, 125, 44, 6*, 132*, 127*. Meanwhile, Parthiv Patel said that Dhruv Jurel will get a chance as a pure batsman at No. 6 only if India decide to drop Nitish Kumar Reddy.
“Whether it is against West Indies or wherever and whatever situation Jurel has got a chance to bat, he has scored runs. The only thing is the combination you want to play with. If your combination is that you want to play with an all-rounder, he may not get a place,” he said.
Parthiv further added, “However, if you want to play a pure batsman, Dhruv Jurel can play there and this management has already shown such confidence in Dhruv Jurel once. He played as a batsman in Perth. Although India won that Test match, he did not get a chance after that. I think Dhruv Jurel has done enough to be considered as a batsman in the Test team.”
Parthiv Patel’s India XI for IND vs SA 1st Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy/Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.
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