VVS Laxman has named his preferred playing XI for India in the first T20I against England in Ahmedabad on Friday, 12th March.
With the 19-man squad boasting a lot of talented players, it remains to be seen which of them would make the Indian playing XI on Friday.
VVS Laxman Would Go With KL Rahul Instead Of Shikhar Dhawan And Wants Suryakumar Yadav To Wait
Nevertheless, during a discussion on Star Sports, VVS Laxman put on the selector’s hat and picked his preferred Indian XI for the first T20I. In the top six, VVS Laxman opted to go with KL Rahul ahead of in-form Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner.
“It is going to be a tough choice because there is a lot of quality in that squad. But for me, for the first T20 international, I would go with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to open, No.3 will be Virat Kohli, No.4 Shreyas Iyer, No.5 Rishabh Pant, No.6 Hardik Pandya,” said VVS Laxman.
While Rishabh Pant will play alongside KL Rahul and is likely to bat at No. 5, there may be a close call between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer for the No. 4 positions in the batting order.
VVS Laxman Picked Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, And T Natarajan
VVS Laxman picked spinner Axar Patel ahead of Washington Sundar for the spin-bowling all-rounder’s slot in a bowling attack comprising of three pacers and two spinners. VVS Laxman wants Axar Patel to play on his home turf. The spinner debuted in the preceding Test series against England and was the 2nd highest wicket-taker with 27 wickets in only 3 Tests.
“The kind of form Axar Patel has shown during the Test series, keeping in mind it is going to be his hometown Ahmedabad, No. 7 will be Axar Patel. No. 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, No. 9 Deepak Chahar, No. 10 will be Chahal and No. 11 will be Natarajan because I want to develop Natarajan as the death specialist along with Bhuvi and Bumrah,” stated VVS Laxman.
The elegant former right-handed batsman feels it could be a tightly contested series, but the Virat Kohli-led side would emerge triumphantly.
“It is going to be a close series, no doubt about that, but I will still back India, 3-2 for India,” concluded VVS Laxman.
Although T Natarajan figures in VVS Laxman’s preferred Indian XI, the left-arm pacer may not be available, at least for the first few T20Is, due to a shoulder injury. In that case, Shardul Thakur or Navdeep Saini is likely to play the role of the third seamer if the hosts opt for a three-pronged pace attack. Yuzvendra Chahal may come into the scene if India opts for more spin options.