India are expected to go in with a spin-heavy bowling attack given the spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka. Gill and Gambhir also have to find an answer to the No. Who will play between Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan ? Will Gurnoor Brar or Saransh Jain make their Test debut? Here’s our India predicted XI for the first Test.
India captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir have a few selection headaches to resolve when they pick the playing XI for the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, starting August 15. 6 position.
Ravindra Jadeja is also expected to return as the primary all-rounder in the team, while Mohammed Siraj is set to lead the pace attack in Jasprit Bumrah ‘s absence. Last among the certainties is Devdutt Padikkal at No. Padikkal struck a century in India’s warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, and with Sai Sudharsan out injured, he has no direct competitor for this series. India’s big dilemma in the batting order comes for the No. Dhruv Jurel has played most of India’s recent Tests, but Sarfaraz Khan’s re-inclusion in the squad has created a debate for the position. However, Jurel is the favourite to retain his position.
3. 6 spot.
A combination of three spinners and two seamers seems more likely than four spinners and just one pacer. In that case, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar is likely to play, after a ‘Player of the Match’ performance on Test debut against Afghanistan in June. This would see veteran Saransh Jain miss out. However, the Gambhir-led team management making the bold call of playing all four spinners cannot be ruled out. Gurnoor Brar impressed in his ODI outings, and was arguably better than Prasidh in India’s warm-up match. He also offers more with the bat.
Gill praised the 26-year-old’s ability with the old ball.
