IND vs ENG: Ajinkya Rahane excludes Karun Nair in his predicted XI for first Test

Indian batter Karun Nair didn’t find a place in Ajinkya Rahane’s predicted XI for India’s first Test match against England, starting today at Headingley, Leeds. Karun Nair is making his comeback in India’s Test squad after eight years. His last Test match was played against Australia in March 2017. Ajinkya Rahane wasn’t keen to add him to his XI for the first Test. He wanted Dhruv Jurel to bat at number five and kept Sai Sudharsan at three.

The Indian Test veteran didn’t tinker with the opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Besides, Shubman Gill bats at four, while Pant takes the number six spot in the batting order. Rahane preferred to have a spinner in Ravindra Jadeja at number seven and a fast bowling all-rounder in Shardul Thakur at eight. Interestingly, Rahane didn’t pick Prasidh Krishna in his fast-bowling attack and instead chose Arshdeep Singh. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were the other two pacers in his eleven. 

Here’s a look at Ajinkya Rahane’s predicted playing XI for First Test vs England: 

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh.

Ajinkya Rahane revealed his predicted XI in a video on his newly launched YouTube channel. He also spoke about the challenges that Shubman Gill faces as the captain of the Indian Test team but expressed confidence in his abilities as a batter and as a leader. 

"I think it's going to be a challenging task for Shubman because in Test cricket I always believe you have to be proactive as a captain. I'm sure Shubman will do well, but it will take time because captaining in T20s and ODIs is completely different. In the Test format, sometimes you have to stay one or two steps ahead of your opponents, talk to your bowlers, and plan things with them. So, it's going to be a challenging task for him, but I'm sure he will do well as both a skipper and a batter," Rahane stated in his video.

Ajinkya Rahane last played a Test match for India on the tour of West Indies in 2023 at Port of Spain.