No room for Kuldeep Yadav, Ranji star as Gautam Gambhir told to make bold Shubman Gill call in India XI vs England
With just over a week left before India's five-match Test series against England gets underway, conversations have been largely around the kind of playing XI head coach Gautam Gambhir will decide for the opening game at Headingley on June 20. Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has been among the first to come up with advice for his ex-teammate, asking him to take a bold call on the new captain, Shubman Gill.
The discussions around the potential playing XI has been mostly about the top-order combination, with senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having retired from the format last month. Uthappa, speaking on Star Sports show 'Game Plan', said that he would want to stick with KL Rahul as an opener, after his century in the India A game recently, and have Gill pushed down to the No. 4 spot to make way for Sai Sudharsan at No. 3.
"For me, I want to start stronger right at the top, and I would want KL Rahul to open there. With the kind of success he has gotten there, with just the way he batted in Australia, and the way he has batted in the past in England augurs well for India to get him to open the batting," he said.
"At No. 3, I would love to see someone like Sai Sudharsan because of how technically right he is, and the potential he possesses as what we feel and believe he can do and achieve in Test cricket. No. 4, Shubman Gill for sure," Uthappa added.
Uthappa then added the returning Karun Nair, who scored a double century in the first India A earlier this month, at No. 5. In the battle between the two all-rounders, he snubbed Mumbai's Ranji Trophy star Shardul Thakur, who earned a call-up after an impressive show with the bat and ball in the last domestic season, and picked Nitish Reddy.
"My No. 5 would be Karun Nair because you want a little bit of experience there. No. 6 - Rishabh Pant, I love him at No. 6. I think that's his sweet spot. At No. 7, I will have Nitish Kumar Reddy because he is a proper fast-bowling all-rounder, your fourth fast-bowling option," he elaborated.
Uthappa picked a solitary spinner in Ravindra Jadeja, thus overlooking Kuldeep Yadav, to add more batting depth.
"I will have Jadeja. Again, increased depth, scores runs, and has scored runs in England as well in Test cricket. So I will have him at No. 8," he said.
His pace line-up comprised Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. "I see Siraj playing that role. Siraj has to be a lot more disciplined though. One change, you will like to see Prasidh Krishna come in, and Nitish Kumar Reddy again to support the fast bowlers," Uthappa said.
Robin Uthappa's India XI for England Tests: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsna, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
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