on Monday, confirmed that the hosts will play Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the two spinners in the first Test match against South Africa at Visakhapatnam. Kohli also said that Hanuma Vihari will be used as the third spinner which means that Kuldeep Yadav will have to wait for his chance. “Yes, Ashwin will start. Ashwin and Jadeja both will start here. Look Jaddu we felt was in a better zone as far as performing overseas and and what he has done in the past season for the team,” Kohli told reporters ahead of the first Test match.
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“Wherever the conditions provide us to go with two spinners, Ash is always going to be a threat and in home conditions with his batting and the way he bowls as well he is always going to be starting with Jadeja. That was a no brainer for us,” he further added.
Ashwin will play his first Test match after he injured himself in the Adelaide Test last December. He is also not part of the limited-overs set-up and had to warm the benches in the longest format when Ravindra Jadeja was given the nod as the primary spinner in the just-concluded tour of West Indies.
Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami will be the two seamers in the side as Umesh Yadav, despite his prolific numbers in home conditions, did not make the cut.
Young wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant misses out for the first Test match against South Africa as captain Virat Kohli confirmed that Wriddhiman Saha will indeed be playing his first match after a gap of 22 months. Pant was included in the side after Saha was injured and now with the Bengal wicket-keeper regaining fitness, the management has given him the nod ahead of the younger Pant, especially because of the conditions at home, which is expected to assist the spinners.
“Yes Saha is fit and fine to go. He is going to start the series for us. His keeping credentials are for everyone to see. He has done well with the bat whenever he has got a chance. It was unfortunate that he was out with an injury. According to me he is the best keeper the world. With these conditions he starts for us,” Kohli informed.
India won the series against West Indies 2-0 and along the way, Kohli became the most successful Test captain. India will take on South Africa in the first Test, slated to begin from October 2.
India’s playing XI: Virat Kohli (Capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Md Shami