Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has revealed his predicted playing eleven for the first Test match against South Africa in the upcoming two-match series. The match is scheduled to take place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where the Indian side, led by Shubman Gill, will face the reigning World Test Championship winners captained by Temba Bavuma. Nayar has made a notable selection by including two wicketkeepers in his lineup. He has chosen Dhruv Jurel as the second wicketkeeper alongside vice-captain Rishabh Pant. This decision comes after Jurel's impressive performance for India 'A' in Bengaluru, where he scored twin centuries in the recently-concluded second four-day fixture against South Africa 'A'. Nayar believes the challenging Kolkata conditions warrant an extra batting option and has prioritized form and balance in his team combination.
Nayar's Team Selection and Reasoning
Nayar explained his decision to include Jurel at number seven, positioning him where he can succeed based on recent form. He has placed Ravindra Jadeja at number six, who is the only specialist spinner selected. Notably, Kuldeep Yadav misses out from Nayar's combination, along with spin-bowling all-rounders Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. Instead, Nitish Kumar Reddy has been picked to provide an extra seam-bowling option. Nayar emphasized that the challenging batting conditions in Kolkata require additional batting depth and a fourth seamer. His final eleven includes three specialist seamers: Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah. The opening pair features Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, with Sai Sudharsan completing the middle order alongside captain Gill and wicketkeeper Pant.
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