R Ashwin Included As Sunil Gavaskar Picks India's Best Playing XI For Centurion Test
R Ashwin with Ravindra Jadeja [X.com]
On Tuesday, India will lock horns with South Africa in the much-awaited first Test of the two-match series. The high-voltage clash will be played at the iconic SuperSport Park in Centurion. This series holds significant importance for India, as they haven't won a single Test series in the rainbow nation.
Meanwhile, ahead of the game, legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has picked India's best playing XI for the venue.
Speaking to Star Sports, Gavaskar included veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in India's playing XI for the first Test.
The ex-captain picked Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal as his openers, followed by Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the middle order.
Despite the Centurion track's non-conducive nature for the spinners, Gavaskar kept both Jadeja and Ashwin in his team, choosing Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as his pacers.
“My Playing XI is going to be very simple. The openers will be a [Yashasvi] Jaiswal and captain Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill number three, number four [Virat] Kohli. Number five KL Rahul, number six Shreyas Iyer or five and six that can move here and there. After that, it will be Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. And then the three fast bowlers, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj," said Gavaskar.
After the Centurion Test, both teams will travel to Cape Town for the decider starting on January 3.
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