India will play two Tests against South Africa, at Kolkata from November 14 and at Guwahati from November 18.
India XI for their last Test, against the West Indies
Shubman Gill (c), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Dhruv Jurel (wk), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
India had fielded the same XI for both Tests against the West Indies. In these, they won at Ahmedabad by an innings and at Delhi by seven wickets.
Read: Predicted South Africa XI for first India Test
India’s options for the first Test against South Africa, at Kolkata
There is no obvious reason for India to drop Gill, Jadeja, Rahul, Jaiswal, Washington, Kuldeep, Bumrah, or Siraj from the XI. Assuming they are fit, these eight cricketers should be “locks”, as they should be in most of India’s home Test matches.
That leaves us with the three others, Jurel, Reddy, and Sai Sudharsan. Meanwhile, a now-fit Rishabh Pant, India’s vice-captain and first-choice wicketkeeper, is back in the mix. Pant copped a few blows while batting against South Africa A, but he returned to bat and fielded later in the game, so one can assume he is match fit. In that case, Pant will return to the XI.
But whom would Pant replace? He can replace Jurel, of course, but Jurel has done more than enough to merit his place as a specialist bat. He made 90 and 39 not out against England at Ranchi in early 2023/24. For India A, he is now part of a run that reads 69, 80 and 68, 94 and 53 not out, 52 and 28, 140, 1 and 56, and 132 not out and 127 not out. In between, he hit 125 and 44 in the two Tests against the West Indies.
On a lighter note, India have won each of the seven Tests Jurel has played in.
One may believe that Jurel can be picked as a batter. But if Pant and Jurel both play, who should sit out? Will it be Sai Sudharsan, the least experienced of the specialist batters? If India indeed leave him out, someone has to bat at one-drop. Whether India want to push Jurel up the order remains to be seen. Given Gautam Gambhir’s tendency to constantly experiment with the batting order, Sundar (or someone else) may earn a promotion as well.
There is, of course, a combination where India can fit in all three of Pant, Jurel, and Sai Sudharsan. Against the West Indies, Reddy batted once (only after being promoted up the order) and bowled four overs in two Tests. Since India are reluctant to use his bowling at home, they may well want to play the extra batter. Alternately, if they do need the all-rounder, they may pick Axar Patel.
All in all, there is a high chance of Jurel making the cut even if Pant returns. It is the combination that needs to be worked out.
India’s predicted XI for the first Test against South Africa
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
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