Despite being a late addition to India’s squad for the ODI series against England, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy failed to make it to India’s XI for the series opener on Thursday. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar made some bold calls with his preferred lineup for the first match of the 3-match series, which is set to begin in Nagpur.
Manjrekar chose to stick with the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, leaving the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal on the bench. Virat Kohli was picked for the crucial No. 3 spot, while Shreyas Iyer was selected to bat at No. 4. In a key decision, Manjrekar opted to experiment with Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper at No. 5, instead of KL Rahul, with an eye on the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Hardik Pandya was slotted in at No. 6, and Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were included as the two spin-bowling all-rounders. Manjrekar, who is aware of India coach Gautam Gambhir’s fondness for Sundar, believes the Tamil Nadu all-rounder could be favored over Axar Patel for the second spin-bowling all-rounder’s role.
Kuldeep Yadav was selected as the team’s sole specialist spinner, while there was no place for Chakravarthy, despite his inclusion in the squad reportedly being linked to potential Champions Trophy plans.
For the pace attack, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh were chosen as the two seamers in the XI, with Harshit Rana being the third pacer in the squad, though his chances of playing in the series opener appear slim.
Here’s Sanjay Manjrekar’s preferred India XI for the first ODI against England:
- Rohit Sharma
- Shubman Gill
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- Rishabh Pant
- Hardik Pandya
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Shami
- Arshdeep Singh